


Escape the Dark

by Bekbek



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: BAMFs, Dark Magic, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Ouch, druid!Lance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-12
Updated: 2019-06-20
Packaged: 2019-06-26 09:08:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 37,714
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15660129
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bekbek/pseuds/Bekbek
Summary: Lance was grateful for his mask in that instant. Champion? Lance could handle him, four tiny paladins? Manageable. The witch of Altea glaring at him? Nope. lance was out of that situation quicker than a greased ferret. He had plans! He was meant to free his friends and escape to live in peace, far far away from the war. Definitely not being caught by an angry Voltron.





	1. Chapter 1

Lance glared at Sendak from behind his mask. The idiot had lost their whole battleship to three measly Lions of Voltron. He knew that he should just be thankful he made it out alive but his companions ruined that. Sendak was an abusive ass but Haxus was just quiznacking annoying. Lance was a damn Druid, he shit more quintessence than Haxus would every see. But did that idiot give him proper respect? Of course not.

          “Apprentice!” the idiot snapped.

Lance gritted his teeth and stalked forward silently. Oh if he could talk he would probably be telling Haxus where he could shove his attitude. Probably be killed for it, but worth it.  _ What I wouldn't give for Merla to be here with me.  _ He turned another glare to the Subcommander, the mask over his face protecting his expressions. His whole battleship was burning somewhere on the forsaken planet, he was low on quintessence from teleporting them out of the ship. The few droids they had were all half broken and sparking. Lance was not in the mood for more stupidity.

          “Clear our way.” Haxus ordered.

The snarl under Lances mask would have made any proper Galra proud. The Subcommander would order Lance to waste energy on clearing some measly plants out of the way? Lance could easily think of a dozen better uses for his quintessence. Pissing Haxus off wouldn't be worth Haggar lashing out at him though. He just needed to keep his head down long enough to survive the mission so he could return to his training. Once he was a proper Druid Master he could grind Haxus beneath his heel with no repercussions. The thought pulled a slight smile to Lances face as he sent a bolt of quintessence to kill all the plants in their path. 

Then he promptly lost his mind when Haxus stepped onto the still charged ground.  The live quintessence left behind latched onto the idiots leg and gave him a nasty shock.  _ If only Merla and Matt where here to see this!  _ Lance cackled silently behind his mask. The idiot whirled around and snarled taking a step forwards. Haxus bared his teeth at Lances mask and he had to hold in more silent laughter. 

As if he could ever be a threat to him, and Lance wasn't even fully trained yet. If he wanted to Lance could wipe Haxus off the face of this planet with no one to carry on his story. A Druid fresh from the void could take Haxus down. He reached a single hand for the Subcommander, purple energy crackling around his fingertips. By threatening a Druid Haxus disrespected Haggar, she wouldn't mind if Lacne taught him a lesson. 

A second snarl halted Lances hand a breath away from Haxus’ rapidly paleing face. While the subcommander would be an easy job Sendak would be harder, and Haggar liked him.  _ Maybe  _ if Lance got the drop on the commander. If the three Lions could distract him just long enough Lance could shoot him down from behind. Get rid of the two Galra left on the planet and vanish into the stars. He could hunt down Merla and Matt then they could find a nice planet somewhere far beyond the Galras reaches to lay low. Matt always praised his home planet, maybe they could even go there. At least one of them would be home with their families. 

All Lances hopeful dreams didn't amount for much if he couldnt get rid of the two Galra. Sendak always kept a close eye on him, weather from mistrust or on Haggar's orders. Now Sendak wouldn't even let Lance kill the idiot, when he was perfectly justified to. Lance just pulled away and followed them as bade. Even if it meant he was down wind and they smelled like burnt hair. Maybe he had been a bit slow pulling them out of the explosion, no one could ever prove it. He needed to plan, to think. If he wanted to escape he needed to time things perfectly and hope for the best. 

It wasn't as if Lance could stroll up to the Lions and just hope for the best.  _ ‘Hey I know I’m a Druid and know for being evil but I promise I’m not a danger to you. If you guys could just kill these idiots I would gladly be out of your hair and be gone.’ ya Lance cause that would work.  _ Especially if the form he was peering at was who Lance actually thought it was. He couldn't be sure through the leaves, but he was catching traces of Haggar's magic drifting his way. The Champion then. 

If it really was the Champion guarding the castle Lance could just leave the commanders to him and split. A Druid would probably be the first person the Champion would go after. Lance had seen him fight, the man was an animal, Lance had no intention of getting in his way. But if the commanders managed to defeat the Champion and contact Haggar telling her that Lance ran away he would be screwed. He really needed a better plan than skating by on the seat of his cloak. If the two idiots would stop staring at him so he could actually think it would be appreciated.

Lance nearly swallowed his tongue when his brain caught up to him.  _ The two were staring at him. What did he miss, was it important? Oh he was so quiznacked.  _ Lance slowly turned to the Galra and nodded once. He thanked to void for his hooded cloak and mask covering his panic. The Galra grinned at whatever he had just agreed to and Lance really really wished he had been paying attention. Especially at Sendak's next words.

          “Good. You will take the Champion while Haxus creates a distraction and I do the rest.” 

Even as he teleported away Lances mind spiraled into a mantra of  _ oh shit oh shit oh shit ohshitohshit. I'm dead. So very dead. Sorry Mama Lance won't be home to dinner because I’m dead.  _ Any rough plan he had been able to create flew straight out his brain as he folded himself into the space between realms. He was quiznacked. 


	2. Now We Begin

Shiro knew there was something up, even if he couldnt put his finger on it. The sense of being watched prickled across the back of his neck, they were being watched. It could be a nervous Arusion that was to shy to come up. Or it could be something dark sneaking behind their backs to attack when no one was ready. The others just thought he was being paranoid, even Keith was caught up in the celebrations. When he saw the familiar form of a teleporting Druid he had a moment of vindictive joy at being right. Then his brain caught up and cool terror slid into his bloodstream. 

Before he could even turn to shout the thing poured pure quintessence down his throat and froze his muscles against his will. He tried to activate his arm and could hear it come to life and feel the faint tingling of the power charging up. Out of the corner of Shiro's eye he could see the purple glow but nothing he did could make him move. The thing rushed forwards and Shiro tried to control his hyperventilating. If the thing knew he was scared it could use that to its advantage. Shiro was more than scared, he was terrified. 

The only reason he wasn't shaking out of his boots was the things control over his body. He didn't remember much of his time with Glara, just snippets of pain and screaming. He had seen the damage done to his body, knew their cruelty must be unbound. Whatever experiences he had with the Druids echoed in the back of his mind, brought forth an instinctive fear from deep in his hind brain. He remembered female laughter surrounding him as pain roared from his arm, the next time he woke up it was gone. Instead of his own flesh and blood he had something deeply evil attached to his body. 

The thing stopped a healthy distance away from Shiro. If he didnt know that it could teleport he would have relaxed just a touch. It half raised a hand before dropping it, if Shiro didn't know any better it would seem nervous. The cloak and hood combo covered every available inch of skin, distanced it from any human normalcy. It didn't seem to want to get any closer, Shiro narrowed his eyes. The thing flinched away from him and Shiro realized it was afraid of him, or at least wary. 

A thought broke through the panic still clouding Shiros brain,  _ pain. Coming from his face but worse than any broken nose. Quintessence sparking fingers reaching for him. Reacting on instinct, not being tied down fully, snapping his teeth down on flesh and bone. Fingers scrabbling in his mouth, blood coating his tongue and throat. The Druid jerking away, silent even in pain. The other hand slapping against his face, directly onto the wound, pain starbursting through him. A broken noise escaping his throat.  _

_ The Druid stood off to the side, Shiro kept his eyes on it in an attempt to know when pain was coming. His eyes cleared the fog of pain fading away as quintessence worked its way through his system. The Druids rarely healed him, only did so when Haggar had specific want to do so. At first he would ask questions, scream for mercy, they didn't care. They never spoke back, beyond Haggar taunting him no other Druid had ever made a noise. The closest he got now was the steady dripping of blood against the ground. Shiro snarled at the thing and it ran its hand across its mask, streaking dark blood across the white surface. The sight gave him a faint sense of cruel happiness. They had hurt him so much and now he got some kind of petty revenge.  _

Shiro blinked out of the memory, seemingly only seconds had past as he relieved his trauma. He had no idea why that specific memory had surfaced in the face of the Druid. It gave him some comfort though, whatever realm of hell the things had crawled out of they could still bleed. Somehow that helped clear more panic from Shiros head. Maybe the Druid saw that, because it forced him to fall to his knees. Then to his everlasting shock it sank to sit criss cross in front of him. Light brown legs covered in black capris and barefeet made an appearance as it situated its cloak around it. 

Any Galra or Druid that Shiro had ever interacted with would never put someone else above them. On his knees he was a good head taller than the Druid but it didn't seem to care. Galra seemed to run on dominance instincts similar to wild animals on earth. The Druid was twisting that on its head, it didn't even glance up at Shiro. Actually it seemed to be writing, shimmering purple quintessence forming english words. 

          ‘Calm. help you.’ the Druid had wrote in messy upside down test.

Shiro had expected nearly anything else, a threat at least. Definitely not an offer of help. He didn't trust it at all, he had spent way to much time facing Druid tricks. The Druid waved away its words and glanced over its shoulder. Shiro could see two more Galra and some sentries walking their way without a single care. The Druid sublty leaned away from the Galra and into Shiros personal space.

It seemed different than any Druids Shiro had met so far. It reacted like a person, behaved how he would expect any cadet from the Garrison to. Whatever act Haggar had it doing was impressive. Shiro pushed against his bonds, they were weakoning, he could twitch the fingers on his Galra arm. If he played it right then he could break free and attack. The Druid turned back and Shiro stilled again. It started writing some more and Shiro saw his name take form. 

          ‘Shirogane’ the Druid paused then added an explanation point and a smiley face. Shiro started to wonder if he had finally gone crazy and was just having a weird fever dream. Would be a much better explanation for the colorful mechanical Lions. The Druid started writing again and he could see that its hands were shaking a touch. 

          ‘Kill the Galra, I will leave.’ 

Shiro stared at the message then looked back to the Druid. It was official he had gone stark raving mad while in captivity. Maybe he had never escaped and all this was a game created by Haggar. She was fond of mind games, and it was always easier to just go with them rather than fight. He slumped against the bonds surprised to be moving before quintessence caught him again. He nodded and the Druid slowly lifted him to his feet. 

It positioned them to face the two Galra who had halved the distance. Shiro noted that it put its back to him, yet still stood relaxed and easy. Everything in him screamed that the situation was wrong, why hadnt anyone noticed yet? He cast his eyes around, not a single Arusion glanced out of the castle at them. He could see Hunk standing at the door looking at the stars, but his eyes skated right over them. The Druid had to be using illusions, or cloaking them somehow. The other Paladins wouldn’t know something was up until it was to late. He wanted to yell, to rage, but the Druid had him under its complete control. 

          “Please,” he murmured, “Please do whatever you want to me but don't hurt my Paladins.” 

He wasn't above begging, he would crawl across broken glass if it saved those kids. The Druid turned slightly and shallowly nodded its head, only the tip of its mask moving. Relife soared through his veins and Shiro stood taller. Even if it was a trap the Druid was offering help, he would take advantage of that. He was watching the Druid close enough to see the change in its demeanour. It stood straighter, pushed its shoulders back, the cloak started to saw as if caught in a breeze. 

Whatever humanness had been present in the Druid faded away. The burn of old injuries tightened through Shiro's muscles, and it only got worse when he recognized the Galra in the lead.  _ Sendak.  _ One of few Galra that stuck out in his head. A vicious commander who enjoyed blood sports and beating prisoners. He was the one that had captured them off Kerberos. The Galra smirked and brought his hand up to twiddle the fingers of his robotic arm at Shiro. 

          “Well if it isn't our favorite Champion back in our grasp. The little apprentice caught you soundly.” the other Galra sneered while Sendak just smirked. 

Shiros eyes slid over to the Druid standing stiffly beside him. It was just an Apprentice? He didn't even know that was a thing. If it had pinned him so easily then what was Hagar's true power? He flinched at the thought which brought a cruel chuckle from Sendak. 

          “Move aside Druid, I’d like to greet the Champion properly.” Sendak purred. 

The Druid hesitated but slid to the side and released Shiro from its bonds. He loosened his muscles as he kept an eye on Sendak. The Galra stood completely relaxed, like he had no worries in the world. Shiro was just waiting for the attack when a sudden explosion came from the castle, he whirled around just in time to see everyone panicking as the doors slammed shut. Keith and Allura made it out but the Druids tricks kept them from being seen. He froze for just a second and in that time something slammed into his back and threw him into the closed door. Shiro pushed himself to his feet and spit blood, he had bit into his tongue. Sendak was smirking his robotic arm glowing much the same as Shiro's could. 

          “You should know by now to never turn your back on your enemies.” Sendak taunted. 

Shiro activated his arm and gave the Galra commander a grim smile. He could only put so much trust in the Druid, and it had already let him get smacked around. He would do it on his own then. 

          “Sendak! Sad to see you didn’t die in that lovely explosion.” 

Sendak's arm came flying at Shiro's face and he parried it and dodged the next blow. He gave his body to adrenaline Garrison training and his year in the ring keeping him from getting to many injuries.  

            “It would be smart for you to run. Voltron has risen and we will take you all down.” Shiro gasped after a particularly bad hit to his side. 

Sendak growled out a chuckle as he closed in again. Shiro was getting tired, and the commander knew it.

            “Voltron is weak, you can't even pilot all the lions. We will capture you and put you on your knees before Zarkon. Then maybe you will all be given to Haggar, the witch would enjoy playing with the heroic  _ Paladins. _ ” 

The blow was aimed straight at Shiro's chest. He could do nothing to stop it, to guard himself from the killing blow. He closed his eyes expecting a flash of pain and then nothing, but instead he felt the tip of Sendak's claws scrape against his armour then stop. He cracked an eye open and saw purple quintessence stopping Sendak from finishing the blow. He glanced over at the Druid and Sendak followed his eyes a snarl ripping out of his chest at the Druids upraised palm. A pang of worry shot through Shiro, for the Druid of all things. 

          “What do you think you are doing?!” Sendak snarled. 

The Druid lowered its hand and banished the Quintessence holding Sendak back. His attention on the Druid the commander didn't notice Shiro moving away, or just didn't care. It slid forwards calmly, not even glancing at the gaping other Galra. The movement of the Druid turned Shiro off, it didn't seem to walk but glide through the air. As odd and alien as the Galra were they were still corporeal beings, not whatever demons made up the Druids. Some prisoners had whispered that they were just malicious spirits powered by Hagger. Shiro didn't fully know but he was terrified of them, and even Sendak leaned away from this one. 

The druid cast a loop of quintessence around Shiro's neck and gently drug him over to its side. It rankled him to be leashed like a dog but he didn't fight it. If this was the Druids idea of helping it really needed to learn some new methods. Sendak could have easily killed him! The commander was furious as the Druid knelt Shiro at its feet. His purple fur was all stood up on end like an angry cat. 

          “I’ll ask again. What do you think you are doing?” Sendak seethed. 

The Druid grabbed Shiro’s bangs and jerked his head jack exposing his throat. He felt a clawed hand settle over his jugular and fought against the urge to lash out. The Druid hadn't immobilized him again and he didn't want to draw attention to that fact. A sudden familiar laughter filled the area, Haggar. It sent chills down his spine and gooseflesh rose on his skin. He knew that it was just an illusion, that if the witch were here then she would have already killed or captured everyone. He couldn't convince his speeding heart that though. 

          “What does that even mean?” the other Galra snapped. 

Shiro could practically sense the ire rolling off the Druid as it released his hair and throat. It pointed a finger to Shiro then back at itself and turned its back on the furious Galra. He could do nothing more than follow it as it glided to the castle doors. 

 

```

 

Lance was irritated. The Champion had always seemed fairly smart but he kept making foolish decisions and messing up Lances plans. Who actually thought they could fight Sendak well enough to taunt him? His quintessence reserves were running low and he would still need to use them for the coming escape. Not to mention the Champion had gotten himself hurt and if Lance wanted to better his chances he would heal him. Just another stupid mistake. 

If he had known that he would have to stop Sendak from killing the Champion he wouldn't have bothered to guard the Altean from the blast. The only reason he had even been able to was by trying to get a lock on the drone packed with explosives Haxus had sent into the castle. His hope had been to destroy it making Haxus look like a bigger idiot and stir up trouble between the commanders. Any extra drama to help him slip away unnoticed was greatly needed. Instead he had ended up protecting an Altean that would gladly kill him. 

The only reason he had bothered was the Champion. He had begged for the others, Galra would never even think of doing so. The only time a Galra  _ might  _ beg would be for their children, his own mother had. He wasn't meant to remember, but his aptitude for mental arts had unlocked the memory soon after he escaped the void. Mainly he remembered her eyes, warm and brown begging for Haggar to leave him alone, then for him to be strong.  The memory had startled him into agreeing to protect the Paladins. 

He barely kept Sendak from killing the Champion. Attacking the commander made his quintessence burn in his veins, a safeguard installed by Haggar. No Druid would ever disobey her if they wanted to keep their quintessence from shredding their insides. Lance had his own safeguards in place to prevent that but the backlash still wasn't pleasant. He had to fight the urge to hunch into himself, he needed to seem perfectly strong. If Sendak sensed weakness he would strike while Lance wasn't looking. 

Lance glanced over the doors as he played with the hem of his cloak. The oddly smooth fabric rubbing against his fingers helped calm the shaking in his core. He was almost there, could almost taste his freedom. There didn't seem to be and blocking over the doors, not like the normal base where only a few Druid Masters could teleport around. He would be able to get them inside, but carrying three would be a massive drain on his reserves. Once he did that he wouldn't have much to heal the Champion with, but he could. 

The other Galra came to stand on either side of them and Lance took a deep breath. He could sense their anger at him echoing out of their minds, it would only get worse when he was teleporting them. He wasn't the most powerful of Druids, or even close. But his ability to slip into undefended minds much overshadowed his own shortcomings. And was the reason he had been with Sendak in the first place, looking for traitors. Now he was having to babysit two failed Galra and just hope for his chance to get away. Lance reached into his reserves, slid them between realms and placed them on the other side of the door. 

It was dark in the castle, the explosion had taken out the powering crystal. Arrusions huddled in the corners whimpering as Lance finally dropped his illusion keeping them from sight. He expected there to be a Paladin or two waiting for them to enter, their should have been at least two left. He had seen one Escape the doors with the Princess but had been more interested in keeping the Champion alive than them. They had run off anyway, he didn't really care where. Still the lack of an immediate assault prickled the hairs on the back of his neck. 

He couldn't even cast his mind out to search for them due to limited reserves left. He slowly ran his eyes over the cowering Arrusions, anytime the glow of his eye slits met one they turned away in fear. They knew what a Druid was then, good. It would keep them out of his way and hopefully somewhat safer. If he had to kill any of them then he was fairly sure the Champion would put up a fuss. He began the trek to the control deck, stalking after Sendak and the idiot. He kept the Champion close and leashed though he didn't let the quintessence burn his skin like it would have. 


	3. Pain and Lies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey hey hey! I'm here with another chapter ready for delivery! but Firrrrrrrrrrst how about some shout outs. As always the biggest shout out to my beta reader Ro who helped me get through some rough bits in this one!! the other shout outs go to Whateves1 and This_person_cant_write for their lovely comments on the past two chapters!! i primarily run on caffiene and positive feedback so even if someone just says they like one line i get so happy. anyway enough of my drivel now lets get to the good stuff.

Pidge watched the group walking through the castle with a glare. She did not have time to be dealing with more Galran bull, she needed to find her brother. The fact that Shiro couldn't, or wouldn't, even remember what happened to him turned her stomach. Her big brother could be in some kind of prison camp, or the arena, or any number of worse things she firmly refused to think about.  The people that could help her find out walked directly beneath the vent she was hiding in. Pidge would do whatever it took to get the information she needed to find her brother. Even if it were dangerous.

They had already captured Shiro. He was beat up but alive, he stuck close to the side of the Galra in the cloak. It made a dark anger curl low in Pidge’s belly. Just because he didn't know who she was didn't mean that she didn't know him. Katie Holt had watched her brother crush on Shiro for years, had hung out with them both specifically to antagonize Matt. Shiro had brought her cupcakes when she was sad, and gave her a piggyback ride when she broke her ankle. He was like an extra brother, she would not stand for him to be hurt anymore. 

She crept through the vents to keep the Galra in sight, Rover scouted the best routes for her. Allura and Keith were whispering in her ears, giving her instructions. If she could get the power on then taking them down would be much easier. She just really wished that Shiro or Keith could help her, they were the much better fighters. Even so she would not back down, she would not fail the small family she had left. Even after she left Volton she would not forget the bonds she had already made. Maybe after she found Matt and her Dad she would come back and help defeat the Galra. 

First she needed to get the particle barrier down, then when the other two could get in they could face the Galra down together. Whoever the Galra in the cloak was gave off bad juju, even from Pidge’s distance. They didn't move like the other Galra, and they didn't glance around once they got past the ballroom. Plus the mask with it’s glowing eyes was just disturbing. Pidge would be sure to stay out of their way as much as possible.  

 

```

 

Lance could feel eyes on them, and they weren't the Arussians. He didn't risk glancing around and letting their observer know he had caught on. He hoped it was one of the other two Paladins, that would make his life a lot easier. He was keeping the Champion close just to be safe, though the man wasn't a fan of it. He didn't really care, the Champion was his best bargaining chip if things went wrong. Supposedly humans would do anything for those they had pack bonded to, at least according to Matt. 

Druids were not prone to connecting, anyone they showed affection to had the habit of dying. The only reason Merla and Matt survived close to him was their own unimportance. Few thought to look at who they spent their time with, or why they had such impressive mental shielding. Lance couldn't just let them wander around with thoughts of him available for any Druid with the skill. Sure those gifted in Mental talents were rare, and usually thought themselves to important to poke around in underlings heads, but he wasn't taking the risk.

The Champion's mind was impressively shielded, whether from his own doing or mental scar tissue from being Haggar’s play thing. Lance didn't bother poking around in there, more interested in keeping his reserves contained. He imagined he could reach out to whoever was stalking them, find out their plan and stay out of the way. If he knew the state of their mental shields he might have, but he didn't want to risk them being aware of him poking about. In his single decapheobe with Matt, he had taught the boy how to protect his mind, and Merla had been trained in them for years. 

It was irritating that the commanders had such good shields. Lance would have liked to be able to reach into their heads and scramble their brains into drooling messes. Sendak he would have expected the shields from, a high ranking commander who was in Haggar’s favor. The other idiot on the other hand, his stupidity was his own shield, a perfectly blank mind without thoughts crossing it. He stuck his tongue out at their backs, pressing it against the ivory of his mask. Their souls would rot in the Void. 

 

They made their way into the crystal room and began the set up of their own crystal. Sendak wanted to bring the whole castle to Zarkon. Lance wasn't quite sure how a castle was meant to be a ship though. He was just trying to stay out of the way, he didn't need any more anger or annoyance aimed his way. There was a small Paladin running amok and causing trouble, much to his delight. Any time they ruined something the Champion had some kind of grim smile. 

          “Druid! Follow Haxus and get rid of the Paladin.” Sendak ordered after they had cut the power. 

Lance was already grinning under his mask. Now was his shot, if he could time things just right then he could escape scott free. The Champion had clear panic on his face, Lance gave him a small nod and walked to stand behind Haxus. His reserves were near non existent and he would have to be careful of cameras, but soon Haxus would be no more.  

The small Paladin was entertaining, and exceedingly smart. They were running Haxus in circles, and with their conversion of a small Galra drone, even one upped him. Lance was having a great time. When they finally came out from behind a corner Lance moved to grab them and pull them to his side. He would keep them out of the way while he dealt with the distracted idiot. He hadn't expected them to swing their bayard at him, he dodged out of the way and felt a small foot connect with his chest and knock him off the walkway. Lance barely managed to catch the edge of the walk with the help on a boost of quintessence. 

His body cried out in pain at the sudden catching of all its weight in one arm. The noise of the Paladin and Haxus fighting back and forth filled his ears. When he fell he had slammed the chin of his mask off the metal and sliced it into his forehead. Blood started dripping across his brow and into his eye as he worked to pull himself up. A quick sweep of quintessence cleared the blood off his face, he would need to take the time to properly heal when he escaped. 

The small Paladin had pushed Haxus right to the edge of the walk. In a move similar to what they had just done to him they knocked him backwards. Lance expected that to be the end until Haxus’ hand shot out and grabbed the small drone to keep himself up. After a moment's hesitations the drone shut itself off and they fell together. The strangled yell and lunge forward from the small Paladin was more like a friend had fallen than a machine. Lance sent a small bolt of quintessence after them and couldn't help his shock at what he found, the droid hadnt just been reprogrammed at had been awoken. It took barely any energy for him to bring the dead hunk of metal back into his palms. 

Even though it had powered itself off to force Haxus to, fall the drone still had faint traces of quintessence. Lance probed the traces and a faint taste of the Paladin’s own energy greeted him. They had been able to fully make the drone theirs. He turned to toss the drone back to the Paladin planning to explain the agreement to them and secure their help. Movement caught his eye as the drone left his hand, he wasn't quick enough to turn before it slammed into his ribs. A tick passed then electricity was arcing through his body and knocking him out. 

Lance slowly pushed himself to consciousness, his body  _ ached.  _ Haggar was also fond of electricity based attacks when someone annoyed her, which Lance seemed to be good at doing. There was yelling and noise all around him, it was what woke him up. He half pushed himself up and blinked at the battle in front of him. The Paladins were fighting Sendak, and losing. Lance gathered the rest of his quintessence into his palm and shot a bolt of energy to hit the commander in the back. Their heads turned to him and he saw that they all had mirrored helmets before he slid back into unconsciousness

 

```

 

Lance was starting to get tired of being knocked around. He was a Druid not a yelmor’s chew toy. He ached all over and didnt have a single trace of quintessence left in his veins. He pushed himself to sit up with his eyes still closed, at least there was quiet. He cracked open his eyes and immediately slammed them back shut. This was not happening. He was not surrounded by Paladins. He peeked one eye open again and found that the scene sadly had not magically transformed to a gorgeous beach. 

Lance was grateful for his mask in that instant. Champion? Lance could handle him, four tiny Paladins? Manageable. Awful nausea clouding his head and slowly forcing bile up his throat? Gross but he could live. The Witch of Altea glaring at him? Nope. He was out of that situation quicker than a greased yelmor. The squeak and terrified face being caught by bone and a low hood proved that. He jerked backwards only to be stopped by something wrapped around his wrist.

Lance glanced down and barely managed to hold in another groan. Of course there would be no reason for him to be so sick, no reason except the quintessence cuffs locked around his wrists. He pressed his curled fist into his stomach to try and stave off the urge to vomit. Throwing up inside his mask was an experience that he had no desire to repeat. The witch was definitely glaring him down, and the pretty boy next to her.

Lance hunched further into his cloak and took stock of his injuries. Something had knocked hard enough into his mask to cut into his hairline, countless bruises, and the spot where the small Paladin had shoved their damn bayard into his ribs ached. He really wanted to just go curl into a ball and work on healing himself. He had not gone without his quintessence constantly crackling in his veins since he had escaped the Void. the quiet in his veins was a foreign sensation that knocked him off his axis. Lance looked up to the Champion and gave his best glare hoping it translated through his mask. He was supposed to leave after the Galra were taken care of, not be captured.

Lance glanced back at the cuffs, they were already blinking red. Even as weakened as he was, his quintessence was making short work of the bonds. Probably old Altean tech, the ones Haggar was fond of took days to overload. Though by the empty feeling in Lance’s belly it might have been days since he was knocked out. He tried to glance around as much as he could without moving his head. The princess was trying to glare him to death, along with with the angry pretty boy. The champion still looked as kind as ever, and the small Paladin stood half behind him. 

He was a damned Druid, apprentice or not, and he really should not have been taken down. His only defence was that he had underestimated the Paladins. He would not make that mistake again, no matter what. Lance pushed himself to his feet and drew himself to his normal stance. The Paladins would not intimidate him, he had faced much worse and survived. He would do so again, until he could get away.

 

```

 

The Paladins stood awkwardly around the unconscious and chained Druid. It had helped Shiro, and even saved Rover for Pidge But everything he knew about Druids insisted that they were Haggar's toys and would do anything to better themselves in her eyes. It had shot Sendak and helped to kill him but it could have done that to gain their trust. It had also shielded Coran when the crystal blew up. From the brief glances Shiro got at its body it seemed younger, as much as pure malice and magic could. Shiro hadn't even know the Druid had proper bodies except for Haggar. Their cloaks seemed to fuse into one bolt of material unless they were conscious. 

          “Sooo, does anyone have any ideas on what to do with the witch?” Keith nervously asked. 

          “Well they saved Rover for me. And helped Shiro. And somehow shielded coran. So maybe they're not so bad?” Pidge suggested. 

Allura let out an animalistic growl and Shiro felt uneasiness settle low in his gut. She had seemed mostly level headed and put together up until she had seen the unconscious being. Shiro had planned to dump it on some uninhabited part of the planet and let it fend for itself. The Princess had insisted on taking it captive.

           “I don't care what the Druid thought it could accomplish, but I can sense it's quintessence. Its tainted. Turning on the other Galra was just a ploy to make us trust it.” the princess snapped. 

Pidge shifted on her feet and in that instant reminded Shiro so much of Matt it hurt. It hurt to not know what had become of his teammate and friend, hurt more that Pidge didn't even trust him enough to tell the truth. If she would just talk to him the- the Druid slowly sat up cutting off Shiro's thoughts. 

It barely sat up before it was hunching over to press its bound hands into its stomach. Shiro sensed the rest of the group shifting into fighting positions, Keith even had his bayard out. The only movements it made were the tiny twitches of its mask as its gaze bounced between the Paladins. Once it saw the princess glowering down at it the Druid scuttled backwards and tried to raise its hands defensively. It seemed to realize it was chained, the tiny twitches of the mask between its hands and the princess telling. The solid red light on the cuffs started blinking and Shiro held his breath hoping the quintessence blocking held. 

          “Those are Altean quintessence blocking cuffs. I don't know much about modern Druids but I do know that you can't do anything while I have you bound.” Allura sneered. 

The Druid was clearly starting to panic, even as it leveled a long look at Shiro. Clenching and unclenching its fist, panting, glancing at the other Paladins. It had Shiro on edge. Even the commanding officers feared the Druids, if all it took was some quintessence blocking to shut them down then there never would have been a problem. There was something not right about this Druid, it was even wearing black robes which Shiro had never seen. Most of the Druids wore brown robes, and Haggar wore fancy dark purple ones. It pushed itself to its feet and Shiro could tell it stood like a soldier even under the cloak.

          “Listen, hurting you would be a last resort.” Shiro soothed “You tried to help us and we just want to understand why. You need to understand that if you try anything we will react accordingly.” 

having the Druid’s full glowing gaze on him had Shiro's heart trying to rabbit its way out of his chest. Shiro glanced at the distrustful princess, the Druid was apparently terrified of her. It kept glancing over at her, the tiny twitch of its mask giving it away. 

          “Shiro, what do you know of modern Druids?” Keith asked. 

The red Paladin had not put on his helmet and mirrored his face mask like Shiro suggested. Said it was more intimidating for him to have his face out, but the Druid didn’t even give him a second glance. It kept most its attention on the Princess.

          “I admittedly don't know much. I remember somethings but I'm not sure what is fact or fiction. Druid, it would be in your best interest to answer truthfully.” Shiro said.

He ran his tongue across his teeth in thought. Best to clarify what he was pretty sure was true. 

          “Druids serve Haggar.” he stated, the Druid nodded. 

          “Druids can not speak.” this time the Druid paused and made a so-so motion with its hands. 

          “Can you speak right now?” Shiro asked it directly. 

The Druid shook its head then grabbed its mask and pulled like it wanted it off. The thing didn’t even twitch from the Druid’s face.

          “The Mask prevents you from speaking?” Pidge broke in. 

The Druid finger gunned at her, a decidedly human motion. 

          “Can you take the mask off?” shiro asked. 

The Druid shook its head no again. That was annoying, and left them with only yes and no questions. He would have liked to pick the thing’s brain apart and learn all its secrets.

          “Druids manipulate quintessence in all kinds of ways. Haggar is the strongest of you all.” Shiro stated.

The Druid nodded then made a motion like it was hanging itself. 

          “Uhhhhhh” that definitely left Shiro in the grey. 

          “Haggar is going to kill you?” Pidge asked. 

The Druid slowly nodded and hunched into itself. The cocky stance it had, had shifted slightly and Shiro was suddenly reminded of telling off cadets. Watching them go from cocky brats to scolded kids within a few words.

          “Why?” the princess barked. 

The Druid jolted slightly then very clearly gestured to all of the Paladins. 

          “Haggar is going to kill you because you helped us?” Pidge squeaked. 

The Druid nodded again and rubbed its hands across its mask in clear distress. Shiro noted that its hands were a nice tan. He coughed slightly and cursed himself for starting to think of it as a being. 

          “Druids are nothing more than shadows animated by quintessence and ruled by Zarkon.” Shiro continued. 

The Druid snapped his gaze to him and stared for a solid five seconds. Shiro felt sweat beading on his spine before the thing started to move again. It rapidly shook its head even while its shoulders started to shake, it was laughing at him. Its cloak apparently became separated again as the Druid pushed it over its shoulders. Under all the fabric the Druid did have a body, littered with old scars, fresh, and a glowing purple mark, it was undeniably flesh and blood. It was almost painfully skinny, protruding ribs and arching collar bones exposed to their gazes. 

Shiro heard Keith audibly gulp. The poor guy knew about hunger, had been bullied out of food more than once. The Druid reached up and also pulled its hood back, though the bone mask melded into black that covered its whole head. Then the Druid poked itself in the chest leaving a tiny pale mark, as if to prove its solidity. 

          “C-can you eat?” the Pidge asked.

The Galra slowly turned to look at the girl but made no move to actually answer. 

          “You will answer.” the previously silent Keith snapped. 

The Druid turned to look at him and slowly raised one hand… to flip Keith off. The red paladin growled lowly in his throat and lunged to place the tip of his sword against the Druids heart. Everyone gasped at the quick movement but the Druid didn't even flinch. Rather it carefully pushed the sword to the other side if its chest and tapped the blade with one fingernail. 

          “I would halt any kind of tomfoolery you have planned  _ Druid.  _ You would be wise to remember who holds your chains.” Allura snarled into the sudden tense silence. 

The Druid didn't flinch this time. Though it did subtly lean away from the furious Altean. Shiro saw green movement from the corner of his eye and realized Pidge was on the move. The green paladin placed herself firmly in front of the princess and snapped to get the Druid’s full attention on her.  

           “You aren't going to get anywhere making an ass of yourself. While I fully agree pissing people off is a great pastime if you hadn't noticed the princess kinda wants to eject you into the closest supernova. Now I don't know about you but a human sure can't survive something like that. Can you?” Pidge asked with all the sweetness of cotton candy. 

The Druid seemed to ponder for a minute before shaking its head no. 

          “Great! Now we have a sure fire way to kill you so I'd suggest not antagonizing the trigger happy folk deciding your fate.” she continued just as sweetly. 

The Druid flailed its hands about for a second then pointed an accusing finger at Pidge. She just giggled for an answer, Shiro had to hold in a snort at her devious methods. She had gotten the thing to stop pissing off Keith and found a way to kill it. Really she was too smart for her own good. The downside being that even as Pidge moved back to Shiro’s side, the Druid tracked her, its glowing eyes trained on her every step. Having it focused on the small girl worried Shiro, the drive to protect raising its head. They were not getting very far with questions, just clarifying what Shiro already knew.  _ It can write!  _ Shiro wanted to smack himself in the forehead for forgetting that to begin with.

          “Princess do you think it would be possible to find some kind of notepad to write out answers on?” Shiro asked her. 

She narrowed her eyes in thought but after a moment nodded her head in agreement. She passed the chain over to Keith and turned before pausing. 

          “If the Druid tries anything don't hesitate to kill it. If the cuffs start to make a noise it is trying to use magic, kill it.” 

Shiro’s stomach soured. Out of all of them he knew it was him that should feel the most anger to the Druids, but if he were honest to himself he just felt numb. To much had happened in too little of time, he needed to process and breath for a little while. He didn't understand why the Princess insisted on keeping the Druid captured, he didn't understand why it had helped them to begin with. Not knowing bothered him, control slipping out of his fingers like water. He could feel himself freaking out so he pushed his focus on the Druid and found it looking at him with a cocked head. 

          “Keep your helmet on Pidge, some Druids can play mind games with eye contact.” Shiro muttered over the comms. 

He pressed the button on the side of his helmet turning his visor back to normal glass then pulled it off. They had a point to wearing them, and had planned to do so until the Druid was taken care of but Shiro was suffocating. Before everything that had happened he had never been claustrophobic, or afraid of the dark, or bad at sleeping, or any number of issues that he was facing. These days was a different story.

Shiro took a deep breath and turned to face the Druid without his mask for the first time. He had thought looking at that ivory mask through the safety of one way glass was bad. Somehow, knowing that the Druid could see his eyes looking back at it was worse. The Druid, however, wasn’t looking at him, its attention still on Pidge. He coughed slightly and the Druid’s mask snapped over to him, the six glowing slits making his muscles lock up instinctively. He suddenly couldn't think of any of the questions that had been rattling in his head for over a year. His thoughts dried up under that glowing gaze like a long abandoned well. 

 

```

 

Lance hated this bad game of back and forth. Without his quintessence running through his body, it was starting to realize he hadn’t eaten real food in nearly a pheob. While that normally wouldn't be a problem, he also didn't make it a habit to be taken captive on a normal mission.  _ I would give nearly anything to be safely tucked away listening to Merla and Matt bicker while I studied.  _ He was used to being away from the only safety he ever felt, had spent most of his time on battlecruisers or in Haggar’s labs. Very rarely did he get to spend any significant amount of time relaxed and at peace. 

He was surrounded by Paladins that hated his species. Alteans that would gladly throw him back into the Void without a second's hesitation. Now, more than ever, he missed the time he spent in a happy daze surrounded by people he trusted. He had never spoken aloud to either of them, but he spent enough time talking directly into their minds that they were the only ones who actually knew him anymore. Lance was lost without their guidance.  _ Merla would tell me to take them all out, leave no bodies and there are no questions. Matt would probably try to reason with them, use his words before his might. I don't know what to do on my own.  _

When the door slid open to allow the Princess’ entrance, the only reason Lance didn't flinch again was being lost in his own thoughts. He had heard so many stories of how the Princess would rip through entire Battalions on her own without breaking a sweat. Had heard how she would gladly kill even children in her rage. Haggar had actually warned the Druids to fear her power, and Haggar was the most powerful being he had ever met. Supposedly the Princess had been born in the Void and it had tainted her to the point of no return. She didn't look like some kind of evil Void-spawn to Lance, she was even pretty. 

Lance had never seen a proper Altean, only a few old pictures still existed after the war. It was truly odd seeing people’s faces after so long without, Druids almost never removed their masks. The few times he had his own off, it was only to eat real food for short periods of time, then sliding the ivory over his face again. He hadn't seen his reflection in at least ten deca-pheobs. When he had awoke to faceless beings around him it had awakened an old fear long buried. Somehow seeing the rage on their faces was worse than in their body language, made it seem more real.

The Princess tossed a small pad of paper at his head and Lance attempted to catch it. He had managed to forget that his hands were still cuffed together so when he reached with one hand it jerked the other and threw him off making him miss. It smacked against his mask, pressing the edge into the cut on his forehead. He hissed silently and rubbed at the sore spot through his cloak while glaring at her. She just threw the pen at him also, this time he caught it. He debated throwing it back but decided he didn't actually want to be stabbed.

Lance sat back down and crossed his legs to write better. He could feel the cold of the castle floor seeping through his leggings and into his bones, without the quintessence lining his cloak it wasn't much more than a bolt of nice fabric. He looked up at the Champion as he thought of what to write, they had already asked their questions. Now he had his own. 

_           We had an agreement Champion.  _

The Champion shifted on his feet and Lance could easily read the uncomfortable body language he presented. It only got stronger when the other three turned to him. 

          “We did…” the Champion’s eyes darted to the Princess. 

So, if the blasted witch hadn't interfered then Lance could be well on his way to peace far from the war. 

_           Take the cuffs off, there will not be a Druid on this ship  _

Was the notion really so hard for them to understand? Surely someone had to put some value into their word, Druids didn't lie. 

          “That will absolutely not be happening. For all we know you could be just as big of a liar as the rest of your species and immediately attack.” the Princess spat.

Lance took a deep breath through his nose. The small one had been right, antagonizing the Princess when he had no defences would not be smart. He had to be very careful with what he needed to say. 

_           Not only do Druids keep their word, the agreement was for the protection of the Paladins _

He would hold himself to his word even if the Champion had betrayed him. Besides he had never promised to not kill the Princess and after her crimes he would be quite justified. Even the Void would take her soul. 

          “Why would you not attack us after we did the same to you?” the small one asked. 

Lance cocked his head at them, they were brave to ask that question. He was sure how old they were or what gender but they somehow reminded him of Matt, always asking questions when he should just leave well enough alone.

_            We had an agreement.  _

His answer was as simple as it was obvious. He had already said as much, maybe this species spoke in some kind of backwards truth. The punishment of lying to a Galra, or worse a Druid, was quick and brutal. There was a reason lying had long been done away with under their reign. 

          “What kind of agreement?” the small one asked. 

The Champion saved Lance from having to write it out, answering with a sigh. “The Druid can do whatever it wants to me, but had to agree to not touch you kids..” 

          “Shiro!” the small one and the pretty one yelled at nearly the same time. 

Lance cocked his head, surely they would appreciate their safety more than the others. The good of the many trumped the good of the one, even when one was an important member of society. 

          “How could you offer yourself up like that.” even the Princess sounded horrified.

Maybe the Champion was on the same level as a Druid Master, they would never be sacrificed. It was obvious that he was some kind of leader, even the Princess turned to him. 

_            The Champion is kind.  _

Lance slowly wrote out, the concept was one he didn't have much experience with. Putting others over his own life was nearly a foreign concept. He had always thought there was something wrong with him for doing the same with Merla and Matt, and other Galra would have agreed. 

_           The Galra are not kind.  _

He paused and tried to put his thoughts in order. It would have been much easier if he could just put the feeling in their heads rather than try to sort it into words. 

_           The Champion sheds tears for the vanquished yet he is not weak. It would be smart of him to offer you up for his own safety, you should be grateful he did not.  _

          “Thats stupid! Shiro would never sell his friends out unlike you.” the pretty one snarled. 

That one actually stumped Lance. He had expected them to see the logic of the situation, not to continue lashing out. The Champion was different, if he were Galran he would be put down for being weak. Did they not see how he corrupted the gene pool?

_           The agreement _

He could not understand this strange species, he just wanted to leave. If the Champion would just hold his own end of the deal then there would be no problems. 

          “That will not be happening. I will not allow you to hurt one of my Paladins.” the Princess sneered.

Lance just blinked at her. As if she didn't have the blood of innocents dripping from her hands. As if she wouldn't use the same Paladins as weapons to destroy whole sweeps of the galaxy. As if she wasn't the monster under kids beds.

_           You have done so much evil, caused so much pain but you would protest any harm to the Champion, who would not be harmed to begin with.  _

He flipped the pad around for them to read and kept a careful eye on the Princess. She reacted just how he expected, rearing back with wide eyes before glancing around at the shocked Paladins. He guessed she hadn't exactly told them that facet of her life, rather let them see her as the perfect angel. 

           “What does that mean Princess?” the small one asked quietly. 

          “I-I don't know!” she stuttered. 

The pen fell out of Lance’s hand and clinked on the floor. He could feel their eyes fall on him but he couldn't pull his off the sweating Princess. She would still try to play innocent even to him? Anger burned through his body as he grabbed the pen and scratched his message onto the paper. 

_           Tell them! Tell them the blood that stains your hands! The innocent souls lost to the Void at your doing. The children wiped out because of **YOU**!  _

The cuffs on his wrists started to beep as he reached for the quintessence just out of his reach. He ignored the blade pointed at his throat as he shoved himself to his feet. The Princess would admit to her crimes even if he had to pull them out of her soul. 

          “Whats going on Allura?!” the Champion barked.

Lance pushed harder ignoring the wetness gathering on his upper lip. The beeps got louder and faster the closer he got to his quintessence. The Princess would tell the truth! 

          “Its trying to break through the quintessence blocking!” the pretty one yelled over the noise. 

Lance was getting dizzy, he was so close but his body was at its limits. He would not let the Princess get away with her lies any longer, she had caused too much pain. He snatched back up the notebook even as he kept pushing for his quintessence, he was shaking and ruining his handwriting but he scrawled it out anyway. 

**_TELL THEM THE TRUTH OR I WILL RIP IT FROM YOUR SCREAMS_ **

The beeping became one solid high pitched scream and Lance could feel the faintest bit of his quintessence swirling. 

          “You say Druids tell the truth, well I do too!” the Champion placed himself in the middle of Lance and the Princess.

His arm was glowing bright purple and Lance waited for it to come flying at his face. He would not back down, not until the truth was told. 

          “Allura has been locked in a healing pod since the beginning of the war! No one knows what you're talking about.” 

Lance barely paused to listen to the words. He was so damned close and then the Princess would have no lies to hide behind. Her precious Voltron would leave her behind and he could throw her into the Void where she belonged. Children, the only thing Galra might hesitate to crush, and the  _ oh so amazing Princess  _ had murdered countless in cold blood.  

          “Druid! I will shock you again!” the small one threatened. 

They were all liars then. All sided with the Princess in the murder of his people, he wanted to escape the pointless war but he would never even dream of killing children for it. He would leave the Paladins in bloody shreds even if it killed him. The brand on his chest burned as if freshly laid as he used it to draw on his quintessence. 

          “I swear on my quintessence that I don't know what you’re talking about!”

The screaming of his cuffs paused as Lance held his breath. Swearing on one’s quintessence was absolute, if she lied she died. Five ticks and the Princess was still standing, truth then. Lance nearly fell over as his world imploded. For years he had believed what he had been told, swallowed it whole. For a civilian Galran, the murder of their children drove them to serve loyally, to send themselves and their children to the front lines. It was their reason for still fearing and hating the Alteans. Slowly he sank back to the ground and put his head in his hands, he needed a little second to himself. 

          “Druid?” the small one asked quietly. 

He just shook his head, he couldn't yet.  _ What else? You were obviously lied to about this, what else? You don't remember your life, where you came from, barely anything. You have one memory of your mother as you were pulled away by Haggar saying you were hers but...  _ it was instinct to bring his knees to his chest and reach for his quintessence. The silence in his veins interrupted by the beeping of the cuffs. Not even a varga ago he had been certain of his life, of his world, not he just didn't know. 

          “Druid?” the Champion asked. 

How did they sound so gentle? They should be killing him for attempting to attack one of their own. He had failed but that didn't matter, the attempt was made. Lance uncurled and reach for the notepad where he had chucked it. The pen was nowhere in sight but the pretty one handed it to him. Slowly Lance started to write ignoring the words he had nearly carved into the page in his anger. 

_           We were lied to, made fools of. Told the Princess had slaughtered our children in cold blood when Zarkon finally crushed Alfor. In her rage at the war she started we were told she ripped apart innocents while laughing. We believe it, of course we did, how often have we been told that Druids don't lie.  _

Lance carefully set the pen at his side without making a sound. He rarely felt the weight of his mask but now he felt like it was pulling him to the ground. 

          “They have been fed propaganda. When the victor writes the history of course they are the saints and their enemies are evil baby killing monsters.” the small one mused quietly.  

Lance pushed himself to his feet again, the others leapt up maybe expecting him to lash out. He just walked to the end of his chain and gently pulled on it until the pretty one got to his feet as well. Lance led them to the wall and slowly slid down it to sit with some support, he let his head lean back and rest against the cool surface. In the silence his eyes slid closed, the sudden drama draining every bit of energy from his body. Sleep was inevitable, calling his name as soon as he had originally woke up. 


	4. Empty

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> alright my dudes were going to ignore any typos in here because most of this writing was done at two am while hopped on enough caffeine to kill a hippo. Ro is typically my glorious editor but I didnt let him have this yet because he is a bad nugget and needs sleep.

Allura barely let her muscles relax even when the Druid fell asleep. Her connection to the quintessence blocking cuffs allowed her to feel the thing’s tainted energy. It had been ticks away from breaking through and lashing out before she had sworn on her own quintessence. The oil slick of fear still pulsed through her body and left her faintly sick. She didn't even want to think about what she would do without the only connections to her past she still had. 

Voltron had been her father’s goal for so long, when he whispered it's secret plans in her ear she had been mesmerised. They had snuck away from their duties everyday to tinker and try and see if they could get their ideas to work long before they had told any scientist. She had loved him so much, always following his shadow, and now he was gone. She was caught in a riptide and fighting to keep her head up was only going to last so long. Allura refused to let any harm come to her Paladins again. 

The notion of her people being villainized, lied about, made her teeth grind together. They were peaceful, kind, always willing to help others. Alteans had been lightyears ahead of other species technology wise, but they never held that above anyone. They had lead the golden years with the help of the species they had lifted to their level. Even the Galra had been their allies, their friends, Allura had stayed with Zarkon when her father was busy. She had gone from being in the center of a glowing cluster of stars to lost in the dark. Only Coran was left from her childhood, and even he wasn't present. 

Coran and Hunk still hadn't come back from retrieving a new Balmeran Crystal. She was so worried and so scared, if something happened she would lose the fragile control she had left. She couldn't afford to fall apart yet, even if her soul was broken glass slicing at her insides. She imagined her father at her back as she looked over the slack Druid. Shiro hadn’t wanted to take it captive, had wanted to let it go to do whatever it pleased. She couldn't do that, she couldn't take the chance to learn more about her enemy slip away. 

For now there wasn't much she could do. The Druid seemed terrified of her. Or at least the lies told about here, as if any Altean had a single idea the war was coming. When it woke up she would have to push, have to get answers to questions she never planned on asking. They needed to plan, to have some kind of ideas on what to do next. She wasn't sure how long the quintessence blockers would hold if the Druid was already close to pushing through them. They didn't even have a sturdy place to keep it. 

Sendak was in one of the stasis pods that served as their cells, but would one hold the Druid? Even asleep, the thing’s quintessence twisted against the cuffs looking for a weak point. Allura had always been sensitive to the hidden energies around her, that was a part of the reason she was so close to Voltron even without being a Paladin. Each energy carried that person’s spark, their essence, Allura had never thought a quintessence could be so twisted. More than any action or any word that twisted,  _ wrong  _ quintessence told her everything she would ever need to know. 

The Druid shifted slightly against the wall, she and the rest of her Paladins tensed ready for action again. She didn't know if they could take the Druid down, if it were free of its cuffs and turned its fury upon them they would fall. Shiro and Keith were her only true fighters, and the Druid had easily taken down Shiro. Shiro had said it was just an apprentice, not even fully trained, that the other Druids would be even stronger.Thankfully, the Druid just seemed to be getting more comfortable.

She needed to figure out some kind of schedule so they could keep the Druid under constant surveillance. Preferably with two people at a time, but how would that work at night. She couldn't expect her Paladins to be at their peak conditions if they had to stay up all night to keep an eye on it. Rotating shifts would be for the best, at least as far as their sleep was concerned. Coran would be terrible at any kind of guard duty and if the Druid lashed out she doubted he would be able to defend himself. Hunk and Pidge would be alright together, but she wouldn't let either of them be on watch alone.  

It would be smart to start with herself, or one of the fighters. The Druid wouldn't attempt anything too stupid so long as she continued to be the monster in its mind’s eye. Or it might be a good idea to leave the Druid with Shiro since it had taken a liking to him. She just wasn't sure how Shiro would take that, he had more than enough reason to be wary. The brief snapshots of memory he had chosen to share were enou gh to make her want to wrap the older man in a hug and never let go. 

While she was only operating on half of Voltron, there was no way for them to take down the Galra empire, especially not with the added burden of a prisoner. The best course of action would be to get as much information out of the Druid as she could and then dump it on some random asteroid light-years from any habitable planet. Only the Green, Red, and Yellow Lions were active, as soon as Blue had brought the four humans to the Castle she had shut herself down and raised her shields. Allura knew that Shiro would be the Black Paladin, now if she could just find a pilot for Blue. 

Slow green movement caught Allura’s eye, she had been staring into space as she tried to work through her problems in her head. Pidge was creeping on near silent feet to the Druid. With all the drama in the past few varga, Pidge’s attempts at leaving had nearly slipped Allura’s mind. The girl just wanted to find her family, Allura wasn't sure how human life spans went but she would bet that the Green Paladin was still young. In reality they all were, too young for the war, the terror and the pain that would be coming. Allura barely even felt betrayed at the girl’s attempted desertion. If it had been her father, Allura wouldn't have even pretended that she was staying around. 

She wanted to warn the girl away, to keep a good distance between her Paladins and the Druid. At the same time she wasn’t sure if she was in the position to begin properly commanding them yet. They most definitely did not see her as their leader. That went to Shiro. He was letting Pidge slide uncomfortably close to the Druid though. Allura coughed gently and Pidge jerked away like she had been caught sneaking out. She couldn't see the girls face with the reflective visor but Allura would bet that she had a guilty smile. 

          “Is there a reason your are bothering one of the most dangerous beings this side of the solar system?” 

Pidge glanced at Shiro, almost seeming to ask for permission, but he wasn't paying them any attention. Though he looked at the Druid, his eyes went straight through it and into the middle distance of his memories. Pidge wilted slightly but turned back to Allura and answered. 

          “This is a once in a lifetime opportunity, I can’t miss the chance to study the Druid.” 

Allura took a deep breath and closed her eyes.  _ Anger gets you nowhere Starlight, a Queen rules with a firm but kind hand.  _ Her father’s lessons echoed in her memory, carrying the pain of losing him all over again. He was right though, Pidge did not deserve to be shouted at for wanting to learn. 

          “The Druid is a dangerous creature, exercise caution.” 

All she could do was allow it, if she were honest then she was curious too. Druids hadn’t existed before the war, the Galra only beginning to break into the science magic fusions that the Alteans were skilled in. Pidge was near silent, the hard soles of her armored boots clicking against the ground her only give away. Keith kept a close eye on her and let his bayard drift to the ground. Allura debated reprimanding the attention failure, but at least he didn't vanish the bayard completely. 

Pidge reached the edge of the Druid’s flared cloak and slowly knelt. Allura found herself holding her breath as the girl ran a critical eye over the thing. She pulled up her interface on the arm of her suit and made a few quick notes that Allura couldn't decipher. Slowly Pidge reached out and ran a single finger across the hem of the Druids cloak. The girl cocked her head and made another note before settling to sit on the floor. She pulled up a small holographic clock and watched the Druid for about 30 ticks before making another note. 

Allura let her muscles relax a touch when the Druid didn’t even twitch. Pidge was taking more notes and nodding to herself. The tightness in Keith’s shoulders loosened fully echoing the calm settling over the group. Pidge twisted to look back at Allura and cleared the mirror from her face mask, the bright smile on her face had one coming to Allura’s as well. When she looked like that Allura really questioned how she could have thought Pidge was male. Pidge scrawled a note onto her display and then flipped it for Allura to read.

_           I want to get some readings on it while it is still asleep and not a real danger. _

Allura nodded and smiled slightly at the happiness on Pidge’s face. Give the girl any kind of new knowledge and the Green Paladin would be studying it until she new every detail. The new Paladin really did remind Allura of Trigal, the old Paladin had been older and a whole other species but they shared the drive for knowledge. Allura saw her father’s Paladins reflected in all of her group, the only one missing Blue and her Paladin Blyatz. Even the way Pidge shifted onto her heels and leant over the Druid was a familiar move Trigal had done countless times. The small movement sent a pang of pain through Alluras heart. 

Pidge pressed the button on the side of her helmet to activate the mirrored mask and the leaned into the Druid’s airspace. She slowly bobbed her head and moved a hand in front of the Druids mask with no response. After making another note Pidge leant back in and tapped the the very tip of the mask. The change in the room’s energy was instantaneous, the cuffs started their beeping as the Druid’ s quintessence leapt into action. Quick as a striking Hasper the Druid lashed out grabbing Pidge by her wrist and pulling itself up in one movement. Its speed was astonishing, it had Pidge pulled in with her back facing its chest and a shackled hand on her throat before Keith managed to strike. 

Shiros aborted yell and forward motion was stopped be a harsh shake to Pidges still form. With the mirrored mask Allura couldn't see Pidges face just she was panting and holding herself as still as possible. Keith had his sword ready to go but with Pidge in the way there wasn’t much that he could do. Alluras heart rate near tripled, her secondary bypass opening in a result to the sudden adrenaline surge. No one moved, deadly tension filling the air. The Druid slowly looked them over, with the smallest Paladin in its hands it could easily escape with its hostage. Allura couldn't contain the gust of breath when the Druid released the girl and stepped back against the wall. 

 

```

 

Druids never fully slept, the best they could do was some middle state of vague consciousness. Lance could say with absolute honesty that he did not remember the last time he actually slept. So the second the small Paladin came within touching distance of his cloak, Lance was ready for an attack. While they only spoke of curiosity and learning, he couldn’t help the tenseness in his bones. He bore the scars of too many failed assassinations by those who didn't realize that his sleep was a ruse. At first they just watched him, the tentative brush along his cloak hem the closest to actual contact. 

He thought that would be it, that they would wait until he was properly awake before continuing. When he felt hands on his mask Lance’s overwhelming instincts had him moving before he fully made the choice. Years of brutal training forced their way to the front of his mind, time spent observing others giving him the knowledge he needed. The Paladins were protective of their smallest member, the one who was most likely the youngest. Matt said that humans were furiously territorial of their young, would die for them. It was proven when no moves to attack were made with his living shield in the way. His promise was the only thing keeping him from snapping the delicate neck in his hands. 

Slowly he looked over the forms of the furious Paladins. The Champion had the same look that Lance often saw in the arena, the same look as an animal desperate for survival. The Princess’ pupils were blown poorly disguised fear lining her face. The pretty one had his sword drawn and a tight grip but made no move to strike. Under his bare fingertips he could feel the warm form of the small one shaking. If he had access to his quintessence Lance would be able to feel their intentions and defeat them even if not easily. As it was he just released the child and leant back against the wall. 

By his count he had spent a pheob on Sendacks ship searching for traitors, before that he had spent a full three pheobs on another battlecruiser doing the same. In that time he had been  around countless angry Galra more than ready to take his head off if he even glanced over. With his rank and power levels he was left alone for the most part, but he still learned. He learned what to do when someone actually was stupid enough to lash out, learned how to handle high stress situations, learned how to manage angry soldiers. This current standoff was nothing compared to outing a Galra Subcommander as a traitor to the empire. Even with his quintessence blocked Lance was confident in his own fighting abilities and would be able to escape mostly unscathed.

          “You attacked Pidge!” the pretty one squaked.

_ What kind of a name is Pidge?  _ Lance sighed into his mask and looked for where he set his notebook, he had left it in the center of the room before he came over to the wall. Pushing off the wall he adopted the signature Druid stalk to get the notebook. He could see the Paladins with bayards tracking his movements and the Champion lit his hand up. He didn’t even bother glancing at them letting a mask of easy calm settle over him. The calmer and more in control he could act the more the Paladins would settle around him, the more control he would have. The fact that his face and body were mostly hidden always helped the act as well. 

_           Of course the Paladin was attacked, what would you do when unexpectedly woken on an enemy ship?  _

He flipped the notebook around and watched the nervous shifting of the small Paladin, he wasn’t wrong. If anything he would call himself fully justified, and Pidge lucky that they weren’t dead. The Princess was still glaring at him though, much to his displeasure. Pidge had ducked around to stand behind the Champion while still peeking around his elbow. The small movement reminded him of Matt hiding behind Merlas shoulder when Lance would practice his casting. The sudden memory slammed into Lance with all the force of an Ion Cannon, he missed his friends and the happiness they always brought. 

Even before he had been tasked to hunting traitors he had been in Haggars labs for two pheobs. In total he had left his friends defenseless for six pheobs against his will, he didn’t know if they were still alive. Even when Haggar was ripping into his quintessence, when she shredded through his mind, when she sank her claws into the very heart of his being, he protected the secret of his friends.  _ And now these tiny Paladins think they could ever hold me. A few days to rebuild my energy then I will break through these cuffs and find my friends. We will leave this war far behind us and never dream of the Galra or Voltron again.  _

Silence ruled the small chamber, the air so thick with tension he could swim through it. The Paladins and Princess kept their eyes trained on him, Lance was careful to keep his breathing easy and shoulders relaxed. There were only three Paladins in front of him, there should have been a fourth. He didn't know where the fourth was, or what they could be doing but it set him on edge. With the way his mask turned the world into shades of black and white he couldn’t even tell which Paladins stood in front of him. His best guess would put Pidge at Red or Green, the Champion at Black or Yellow, and the pretty one at Red or Blue. 

The edges of exhaustion played along the edges of Lances mind, he’d passed his limits but couldn’t rest or heal without his quintessence. His wounds ached and pulsed to every heartbeat, but his healing was limited to a normal rate. Nausea still made a happy nest in his stomach but now that he was expecting it the urge to vomit could be ignored. The most pressing matter currently was the long forgotten hunger, a month of his body sustaining itself on quintessence brought to mind dreams of thick slabs of meat cooked Galra fashion. The sound of his stomach gurgling wetly cut through the thick silence. 

Lance looked down at his own belly in shock. When a Druid finally hit the limits of their quintessence and ate proper food it was done under the careful observation of a Druid Master. The weakness was seen as just that, the longer they could go without eating the stronger a Druid was. Even when he was pushing the edge of his quintessence and teetering with one foot in the void he had never gone without some form of subsistence. Lance carefully glanced around the room, trying his best to keep his mask from moving. The Paladins were all looking at each other trying to see if the noise came from one of them. 

          “When Hunk and Coran gets back with the new crystal we will be able to make food.” the Princess sighed. 

_One of them must be the final Paladin, and the other the second Altean._ On one hand Lance wasn’t excited to have another Paladin keeping a close eye on him, he prefered that to them being off doing whatever. At least when everyone was watching him he could also watch them. Sitting still in a room while people stared at him made Lance antsy, he felt twitchy and anxious. Even on a good day he never really stayed still, always pacing or fiddling with something. Since he didn't want to get stabbed he made do by playing with his pen. Everytime he made a movement larger than a breath Lance could see the Paladins flinching and getting ready for another attack. 

He was bored. Standing in a room with more tension than Druid labs was not Lances idea of a good time. Without anything to entertain himself he was really considering trying to make conversation with the Paladins. He figured Pidge at least would answer, and maybe the Champion.Now that he was just standing the warmth of the room started to make his cloak annoying. Lance was fairly sure that it was cooler when the takeover first started, but that might have been a combination of the castle being powered and his quintessence helping regulate his temperature. 

Lance huffed and plopped down to sit on the ground, at least it was cool. He pushed his cloak off his shoulders and scratched at the burn mark stretched across his ribs. Touching the abused skin ached and made his toes curl up but at the same time it was itchy. He turned to glare at Pidge while gently running his fingers along the sensitive edges. 

          “Sorry about that, it must hurt if it was enough to knock you out.”

Lance nodded and reached for his notebook again.

_            Just because Druids are silent we still feel pain.  _

Pidge came out from behind the Champion and sat back in front of Lance. He raised one eyebrow behind his mask at their boldness. Most Galra commanders wouldn't dream of approaching a Druid, yet this child happily settled in front of him. 

          “So are you actually mute or do you just choose to be quiet.” 

Lance scoffed into the silence. Everyone knew that Druids couldn't talk, he’d even confirmed it at the beginning of the interrogation. He could make all the noise he wanted, could even start screaming into his mask and nothing would come out of it. 

_           The masks forces us to be silent, only a Druid Master can remove it. _

Pidge nodded and made a quick note onto their little data sheet. It may have just been for scientific curiosity but Lance appreciated the opportunity to talk to someone again. Very few soldiers wanted to be in the same room as him, let alone be friendly.

          “Does the mask do anything else? Is it just cosmetic or does it work as some kind of amplifier? Why can only a ‘Druid Master’ take it off? How do you eat?” 

Lance held his hands up palms out to try and slow Pidge down. He could only answer so many questions at a time let alone the questions that were being asked. 

_           The masks purpose is mostly symbolic, Druids are meant to be faceless voiceless beings that serve Haggar. The masks depersonalize us and make all of us seem the same. We eat very rarely, the longer without food the stronger you are. As far as taking it off, that requires a massive amount of quintessence that a normal Druid does not have.  _

Pidge reared back slightly. With the mirrored mask there still wasn't much Lance could read based on pure body language.

          “That's, uh that's not the answer I expected.” PIdge mumbled and made some more notes. “Uhm how long can you go without eating?” 

Lance shrugged and pressed one hand against his stomach. He was hungry even though there wasn't much he could do about it. 

_           So long as a Druid is connected to their quintessence it depends on their power levels, three pheobs is the baseline.  _

Pidge nodded and started scrawling some more notes. While they were distracted he took the opportunity to glance at the others. The Champion had moved to stand beside the Princess and pretty one. They were all watching him but instead of the previous anger it was in slight shock. He wasn't quite sure which part hd the shocked, it could just be his ease with answering. Lance had no interest in keeping Druid secrets, he was hoping to never see another Druid. 

          “Well then how long has it been since you last ate?” the Champion asked.

Lance ran his tongue across his teeth and ran the timeline through his head. He knew roughly and his body seemed to agree. 

_           One pheob. _

He would normally be fine for another two pheobs, but without his quintessence… he couldn't eat and his body couldn't replenish itself how it should. From experience he could go a week without eating before he was too weak to do much of anything. That had been after eating properly for a few days so after not eating for a pheob he guessed he could go about four days. After that he needed to find anyway to escape and break through the blocker cuffs. Lance had never thought that he would be grateful for Haggars experiments, her wanting to push him past the limits of his body.

A noise reached his ear from deep in the castle and Lance cocked his head to attempt to better hear. It sounded like a door slamming echoing through the halls. Moments later the Princess turned the same direction and smiled slightly.  _ Guess that means the other two are back with a new crystal to power the castle. That's great for me, makes it sooo much easier to escape when there are lights and cells to stick a Druid in.  _

          “Hunk and Coran are back, let us go to them.” the Princess ordered. 

The pretty one grabbed the chain that hung from Lances cuffs, for the most part that had been ignored. They started the walk forwards with Lance lagging at the end of his chain length. Soon, soon he would be able to find an escape and reach his dreams.


	5. the Journey Begins

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M BAAAAAAAAAACK!!!!! Have a 13 page chapter in apology for my sudden hiatus. The next chapter is already half done and has one of my favorite scenes so hopefully it'll be out soon. More at the end.

If Lance ever got in the habit of telling the truth he would admit that the silent march to find the missing party members had him shaking. They thankfully didn’t walk too quickly, he was still dizzy and thrown off from being without quintessence. He tried to keep an eye on where they were going and get some kind of layout, but it wasn't working. Everything looked the same in shades of clinical white and grey. Finding his way out to escape would be a pain once he managed to actually get loose. 

 

Though with the way the pretty one kept a fisted grip on his chains, Lance had begun to think that escape would be harder than he anticipated. With the addition of another Paladin and Altean joining the others, his chances fell farther. His best bet would probably be small Paladin, or the Champion. The Champion feared him even if he tried to hide it, and the small paladin treated him more like a person. It had been a while since Lance was treated like something other than a curse, he missed it. 

 

They reached the end of yet another hall and paused in front of a large set of doors. The doors opened with no visible prompting and Lance cocked his head trying to see their operating mechanisms. He was distracted when two people strode out of a small Altean pod, the other Paladin and Altean then. He knew the exact moment they regesteried him and the fact that he was obviously a Galran prisoner. They reared back clear shock on their uncovered faces and the giant Paladin summoned his bayard. 

 

        “Uh Princess? You want to explain what's going on here?” the Altean asked nervously. 

 

Lance smiled under his mask. Good, it was good for them to be nervous. He had spent most of his life being feared and hated in turns, he deserved some respect. He had clawed his way out the damn Void and studied under Haggar herself. These damn Paladins would not be able to hold him long, even with their lies and deceit. 

 

        “We are in the unique position to be in control of one of the elusive Druids. It would be unwise to let the opportunity for knowledge to pass us by.” the Princess said with her nose in the air. 

 

Lance rolled his eyes and crossed his arms across his chest. She could play high and mighty all she wanted, everyone knew it was out of a petty quest for revenge not whatever drivel the Princess spit. Even the other Paladin seemed to doubt it, if his raised eyebrow was any indication. Maybe Lance would be able to find another aly then. 

 

        “We’re kinda against war prisoners on Earth.” the other Paladin muttered. 

 

Lances ears automatically perked up at the mention of Earth. He had spent enough time listening to Matt praise his home planet to pay attention without meaning to. He had thought the Paladins were human, but hearing the confirmation just solidified the information.

        “Good thing that this isn’t earth, and that the Druid is nothing more than a monster to begin with.” the Princess said. 

 

Lance had to hold in a giggle at that. Oh what the Princess didn’t know might actually kill her. He supremely enjoyed watching the humans shift uncomfortably, and even the other Altean was gazing was the Princess with poorly disguised shock. He kind of regretted leaving his notepad in the other room, communication always made people seem more real. If he could manage to make himself a sympathetic figure in the others eyes it would make for better chances at escaping. 

 

        “Let’s get the new crystal set up.” the other Altean said after an awkward silence. 

 

He could still feel eyes on him but Lance just carefully scratched under the blocking cuffs. He didn't want to risk setting them off, but when he had struggled against them he bruised his wrists and even opened up a stinging shallow cut. Something that would normally only take moments for his body to fix but would now have to follow a natural timeline. When the older Altean walked past Lance he kept his eyes down rubbing dark blood off his skin. At least until the Altean paused and he risked a quick glance up. 

 

        “Does the Druid have a name?” he asked quietly. 

 

Lance was already nodding when the Champion answered aloud, “Druids don’t have names. The only one that has ever had a name was Haggar.” 

 

Lance shook his head silent as ever, just because they couldn’t tell anyone their names doesn't mean they don’t have one to begin with. Most Druids named themselves, or got given a name by a friend the same way he did. 

 

        “Well, it would seem like he has something different to say.” The Altean joked. 

 

The Champion glanced back at him and Lance nodded slowly. Though the Champion had put his helmet back on he hadn’t made the visor reflective, though Pidge and the large on had. The pretty one also had his face uncovered, though the glare he directed back at Lance wasn’t doing much for him. 

 

        “If you have a name why have you just been letting us call you Druid? You could have wrote your name out.”  Pidge asked cocking her head. 

 

Lance just shrugged. Matt had been the one to give him a name, the human had found it odd to just call him Druid all the time. It had taken Decapheobs for Lance to just call himself by his new name only in his head. Let alone trusting someone enough to give them his name. Lance didn't have much to his name, and he would protect what little he did have with every shred of his being. 

        “Well now it just seems double rude to call you Druid, so what can we call you?” the Large Paladin asked. 

 

Lance just shrugged again, he wouldn’t give them his name. Honestly he didn't plan on staying long enough to even learn their names, so he really didn't care. They could call him Druid or any other name they came up with. He had gone so long without a name that answering to one was stranger than not having one to begin with. The Galra called him Druid, and other Druids just called him Apprentice. 

 

It didn't seem like the Paladins liked his answer. At least how Pidge and the large one grumbled and the Champion side eyed him for a moment. The pretty one didn't seem to have any cares. 

 

        “Well I’m Hunk! Uh, I’m 16, male, human, and the new Yellow Paladin. My favorite things to do are build things and cook. I’m probably the only reason the Pidge and Keith haven’t starved to death.” 

 

        “Hunk!” Pidge snapped. 

 

The large boy turned to the smallest Paladin already halfway to tears. Lance couldn't help the smile spreading across his face. For someone with so little exposure to kindness Hunk was a breath of fresh air. 

 

        “You can't just go and tell an enemy your life story!” Pidge continued. 

 

        “I wasn’t going to!” Hunk said quickly. 

 

Lance just shook his head. Pidge was right of course, being to friendly with an enemy was a sure way to find trouble. When the big Paladin turned his silver lined eyes towards Lance he just sighed internally. Hunk was nothing more than a boy. Still a child, even by Galra standards. A Galra didn't even begin to properly mature until 20. How anyone allowed literal children to not only serve as soldiers, but be the head figures in a war, Lance had no idea.  _ Pidge might actually be even younger, based on her size and attitude.  _

 

The Paladins started walking once again. Lance silently following while they continued squabbling. They reached the control room, or at least what Lance assumed was the control room. It showed signs of the explosion that Haxus had orchestrated, and when Lance inhaled traces of his own magic was mixed into the air. He stood off to the side against the wall and watched as the Alteans directed the placement of a new balmeran crystal. Once it was in place energy hummed to life all around through the ship, turning on lights and powering different support systems. Under his bare feet Lance could feel a barely there humming of the quintessence powered castle.  

 

He stayed silent and unnoticed as the group chatted and joked. He noted when the Champion pulled Hunk to the side and whispered in his ear. Hunk shot him nervous little glances the whole time, and when the Champion moved away Hunk put his suit helmet on and activated the mirror. The Champion also spoke to the pretty Paladin, though theirs involved more arguing before they both shoved on their helmets with twin huffs. Then it was just the Alteans with their faces uncovered. Whatever made the Paladins more comfortable, Lance wouldn't be reading any minds while wearing the quintessence blocking cuffs anyway. And he knew that he could split their minds wide open with or without the masks, not that he was going to tell them that. 

 

The Paladins were hungry. Apparently piloting the Lions used up a lot of energy that they needed to replace, not to mention the other drama of invading Galra. Lance felt a spike of guilt at the side eyes he felt at that but tamped it down. He just followed them down the hallways into yet another grey and white room. The dining room apparently. He sat in between the pretty paladin and Hunk, their bodies trapping him just as secure as the chain still held loosely by pretty paladin. Before they sat Pidge had sprinted off, and she came jogging back in to hand Lance his notebook before sitting on the other side of Hunk. He nodded once and jotted down a quick question before poking Hunk in the shoulder to get his attention.  

 

_         What is the other Paladins name? The pretty one.  _

 

Lance couldn't see Hunks face, but he could bet it was a good one. The yellow paladin did a full double take before choking on air. 

 

        “Uhm do you mean Shiro or Keith?” 

 

Lance bobbed his head and wrote out Keith's name in answer before glancing up to realize everyone was staring at him. He froze under their attention for just a tick before he forced his body to relax. 

 

        “What did it want.” Keith near growled. 

 

Lance definitely noticed Keith's use of  _ it,  _ but he was used to it. It seemed like Hunk had noticed too though, and cared more than Lance himself. 

 

        “ _ He  _ just asked your name, since you didn't share it.”   

 

Lance snorted and bit his lip. Maybe Hunk wasn't so bad, even if the boy was a bit soft. Kindness was such a novelty after all. Out of the corner of his eye Lance could see that Keith was turned in his direction, probably glaring.  _ Nothing I can do about that, it was getting annoying just calling him pretty.  _ Lance paid him no mind, and just started doodling little swirls in the corner of his notebook. After a dobash of awkward silence everyone went back to eating their bowls of goo. For once Lance was glad that he couldn't eat, the stuff didn’t look appealing. 

 

In all honesty Lance was bored. It was taking forever for everyone to finish eating, and they were clearly uncomfortable in his presence. So the time just passed with quiet eating noises and avoiding eye contact. Every time he so much as twitched the Champions head snapped up to watch him, and Lance didn't think the Princess had looked away a single time. Once everyone was done eating they all just sat there in silence. 

 

In the dead silence there was a sudden wet sounding gurgle. Lance cocked his head before he realized the sound actually came from him. He had forgotten that stomachs made noise when someone was hungry. He poked at his own belly marveling at the strange feeling before just shrugging. 

 

        “If you were hungry why didn’t you say anything?!” Hunk squacked. 

 

Lance grabbed his notebook and was quick to scrawl out his answer before sliding it over for Hunk to read then pass around. 

 

_         So long as a Druid is wearing their mask they are not capable of eating.  _

 

It was just part of his life. Lance generally didn't have to worry about it, but it happened. He accepted that without a Druid Master on hand he would never be able to get his mask off. At best that put him life span to two more phoebe, if the Paladins didn't kill him first. But when his options were an oncoming death sentence or serving Haggar for however long he could live, Lance knew which he would choose.  __

 

        “But… wont you starve?” Pidge asked in a small voice. 

 

Lance just nodded. At the girls startled gasp he grabbed his notebook to explain. 

 

_         A Druid typically subsists off their own quintessence. We can generally live pretty long without food so long as we keep our energy levels high enough.  _

 

Lance hoped that would be the end of it. He really didn't want to expose yet another one of his weaknesses to the Paladins. But of course the Paladins had to be smart. 

 

        “With the quintessence blocking cuffs how are you going to be able to not eat then.” Pidge asked. 

 

Lance just looked at the girl and rolled his pen around his fingers. He knew that she understood the implications of her question, everyone knew the implications. The question was how much they cared. 

 

        “We can't just let him starve!” Hunk half shouted. 

 

Lance flinched and hunkered slightly at the noise before jerking himself back to sitting straight. It hadn’t been aimed at him, but at the Princess. 

 

        “I am not removing the cuffs Hunk.” the Princess said calmly. 

 

Hunk spluttered in outrage and pushed up from the table. Lance could taste trouble brewing and scrambled to grab his notebook and regain some kind of control. He wasn’t fast enough though. 

 

        “So you're just going to let another living creature starve to death in front of you?!” Hunk spat. 

 

        “Allura you are being cruel, with all of us surely he can take off the cuffs for just a minute?” Pidge added in. 

 

Lance glanced over at the Champion, who had frozen completely. Everything Was going critical at rates Lance could not hope to fix. 

 

         “I am not going to risk your lives!” the Princess was starting to loose her composure. 

 

Lance frantically scrawled out his reassurances and shoved his notebook in Hunks face. 

 

_         It takes time! At my current levels it will be two pheobs before any problems arise! _

 

Hunk settled slightly as he read the message. It made Lances skin crawl to lie, he felt like at any moment he would be called out and punished. But it seemed like the Paladins decided to take him at his word, or they just thought he wouldn't be stupid enough to lie about his own starvation. But he wouldn't have to worry about it after he escaped. 

 

        “Is that handled then?” the Princess asked frigidly. 

 

Lance nodded before Hunk or Pidge could continue. The Princess motioned for Keith to rise and come to her size, dragging Lance along behind. Once they reached her side the Princess reached out and took his chains between her hands. Lance felt quintessence swirling through the air and watched as the chains dissolved into nothing but air. His wrists now free he let his hands fall fully to his sides. The cuffs were still locked around his skin but at least there was no length limitation. 

 

        “Druid, you are to come with me.” the Princess ordered. 

 

He debated protesting, maybe even offering to stay with the Champion or keith. Really anything was better than her, even if he spent the inside in the lower bowels of a Weblum. But since he didn’t have an escape handy yet, Lance figured it would be better to avoid pissing her off as much as possible.  _ Not like my mere presence doesn't make her upset or anything. Really, if she hates me so much she could just put me in stasis like Haxus. Not like i'm about to suggest that though.  _ Instead Lance pushed up from the bench and moved to her side. 

 

He could feel the Paladins side eyeing him from behind their masks, they really weren't as subtle as they seemed to think they were. Hunk fully followed him with his head.  _ Someone honestly needs to teach them in the arts of subterfuge.  _ He had been trained in how to fade into the background of situations and just watch and learn. Even beyond training, it was in his best interest to never be noticed by Haggar. Her attentions were not something anyone but Zarkon seemed to hope for. Even in his mind Lance wasn't going to touch that relationship without some serious barricades in place. 

 

Though as far as he could tell none of the paladins were able to slip into his mind,  _ come to think of it Matt hadn’t even known it was possible. _ The way Druids often had their minds linked to each other or their charges had been normal for as long as Lance had been out of the void. In truth the silence now in his head was stranger than the echoes of someone else. Even when the Princess stood close enough to him to make him uncomfortable Lance didn't hear even a whisper of her mind. Just the faint static of her Quintessence dancing across her skin in her wariness.  

 

Lance couldn’t think of a way to confirm his suspicions. There was no way her would suggest the Princess actually attempt to breach his mind, and if he mentioned that  _ he  _ could do the same there was no telling how the others would respond. Or actually he could make a few guesses. Lance had tasted the Champions fear and hatred of Druids when he had first attacked the man. And the first time he linked minds with Matt the boy had panicked and done his best to shove lance out, even after they had discussed what would happen. In any case, he couldn't do much more than poke at his own mental barricades with the quintessence blocking cuffs still locked around his wrists. 

 

The Princess had been quick to shut down the suggestion that he be allowed to take them off for just a few ticks in order to heal himself and replenish his body. Even Hunks horror at the possibility that he would starve hadn’t swayed her mind. As he followed the Princess back to the bridge Lance tried to get a read on his body. His various aches and wounds were doing their best to heal without magic, slower than normal but still fast by human standards. He was hungry, a feeling that he hadn't had much experience in decapheobs. It wasn’t nice, but he had survived much worse and would continue to do the same. Lance would be escaping soon anyway. 

 

They reached the Bridge and Lance gladly made his distance from the Princess. She stood confidently at the helm and pulled her quintessence to the surface, it brushed past his skin like a cool stream. Nothing like Haggar’s stinging biting magic, that felt more like acid oozing through his veins. The best Lance could describe Haggar would be… rotten. Like the energy had twisted and fed on itself to the point that it was just wrong. While the witch was astonishingly powerful her magic had lost the life and vitality that was intrinsic in other species. There were times he truly thought she was a demon escaped from the Void and possessing a soulless body.

 

He settled into one of the seats facing the helm and watched the Princess. Princess Allura was terrifying in her ferocity, and in the lies that he had been fed about her. Lance had no doubts that she would be sure to raze the Galra Empire to the ground and walk through the ashes. With Voltron at her fingertips and backed by those the Galra destroyed victory was almost a guarantee. He didn't doubt that it would be difficult, and that many would fall to the Empires cruelty. But Voltron would succeed nonetheless. Lance just hoped he lived long enough to hear the songs of freedom echo through the stars. 

 

Moving slow enough to not draw attention Lance pulled his cloak from around his shoulders and folded into a messy little pillow. With the new crystal powering the Castle the temperature had once again reached a comfortable level and he could sleep without his cloak covering him. It was odd to only be covered by his leggings, but he would prefer a pillow over a blanket with how hard the chair he chose was. They definitely weren't meant for sleeping, but it was better than the floor. Letting his eyes slide shut Lance fell back into the half sleep meditation that took the place of his rest. 

 

```

Lance came back to consciousness some vargas later. He had to admit that the pseudo sleep had helped make him feel better even if he now had a crick in his neck. The Princess had moved away from the helm, and instead taken the seat closest to it. He couldn't help but not it was the chair at the center of the room, and farthest from his own. Making sure she wasn’t paying him any undue  attention Lance turned his sight inwards to take stock of his quintessence. The frozen depth of his soul were more familiar to Lance than anything else. He had clawed his way free of the Void with just his magic keeping him from fading into the nothingness of death. 

 

At the moment his energy was calm, he pictured it as a tundra reaching as far as the eye could see. In the far reaches of his memory he could remember great beasts of ice and diamond wandering unknown icy plains. He imagined they guarded his mindscape protecting him from anyone attempting to breach his kind against his will. Out of the corner of his mind's eye Lance could see the Princesses influence on his quintessence. Fleeting glimpses of shadows that he could only see when he was not trying to see them. It was unlike he anything he had experience with so far. 

 

When Haggar ripped through his defenses and made his mind her playground Lance could easily tell the damage she left behind. Her mind took the form of something shrouded in shadows. All jagged edges and too many sharp teeth to be contained in one mouth. With countless eyes the queen of Druids peered into every crevice of his very soul. It was only her surety in her own prowess and control that allowed Lance to hide the few secrets he kept. His friends, the softness in his heart, the barely there memories that he wasn't meant to have, Lance kept them hidden. Covered them in freezing ice and hid them under layers of cruelty. Exactly the kinds of things Hagar expected and wanted to find deep in his mind. 

 

Lance honestly wasn't sure what the Princess would look for if she entered his mind. Would she look for the icy beasts in order to justify her hatred, or would she attempt to look deeper. The little remnants of her magic he noticed were all from the cuffs. She hadn't attempted to sneakily enter his mind while he pretended to sleep. It seemed like even she had some boundaries. Pulling his attention out of his mind, Lance slowly re-entered the real world. 

 

When he glanced back at the Princess, she hadn’t moved. It was always difficult to tell how much time he spent in a mindscape. There had been times he had thought it had only taken a few ticks and it had taken whole days. This time it seemed to have not taken very long at all. He studied the Princesses profile trying to get a feel for the Altean. She truly was beautiful, much more so when she was relaxed than when her face was twisted with fury. Impressively it only took her ticks to notice his attention before she turned his direction. 

 

        “You’re awake.” 

 

It wasn't a question but Lance nodded all the same. She studied him for a bit before focusing her attention back on the empty space beyond the cold window. He turned as well, watching the slow passage of distant stars. There had been a point, when he was fresh out of the Void, that Space had fascinated Lance. Everything from new planets and their people, to the long stretches of nothingness in between. After so long of living his life on ships, space had lost much of its novelty, it was being planetside that he dreamed of now. The Castle Ship traveled much slower than the average battle cruiser, the times had long since advanced beyond the Alteans’ technological mastery. 

 

The Paladins were still riding the high of their first victory. Even with only three Lions active they had relatively easily taken down a battleship. But there were countless battalions, and in each one there was at least five of the large Battle Cruisers and more of the smaller drone ships. They desperately needed training, and more than that they needed information. They needed to know the Galras battle strategies and they needed to know how to infiltrate them with minimal losses. They needed to know about the rebels that some planets whispered of, and they needed to know how effective the Empire was to stamp out any sign mutiny. 

 

He had a choice to make, and Lance knew it. There were three likely futures spreading before him. First was the most realistic, that Voltron would be crushed before they could fully form and the Empire would continue for millenia.  _ I and anyone i find important would die in that future, so not my favorite. _ Second was that he would be able to free Matt and Merla, get them somewhere safe, and find some distant planet that had never heard of the Galra to spend the rest of is life.  _ I quite like that plan, but could i rest easy knowing that Matt and Merla are in danger without me?  _ The third option… he could offer his help to Voltron. 

 

He could go against all his life spent under the thumb of the Empire. Go against the  _ decapheobs  _ spent serving the cruel masters of countless galaxies. Go against the teachings pounded into his head, carved into his bones, branded against his skin. Go against the cruelest kind and the witch that ruled at his side. Go against the very forces that brought him to life. 

 

He didn't even know if Voltron would accept anything he could offer them. Sure he had knowledge, he had strength, he was an adept spy. Lance had be taught by Haggar herself, not a small feat. but he had no doubt that there were others that could say the same. Maybe not being trained under Haggar, but how much would that be worth. The Princess looked at him like she wished she could banish him back into the Void. The Champion had admitted that he would never be able to trust a Druid.  _ Void knows he's earned the right to be forever wary, after everything he's seen I’m honestly impressed that he's not only alive but mostly functional.  _ Even if Lance was backed by Matt's good word he didn't know how far that would take him. 

 

He was very used to being hated, being feared, being seen as something other. There were even times that he had actively encouraged such feelings.  _ But for once… I don't want to live the short remainder of my life alone and empty.  _ Even if he was only used by Voltron, only kept around for what he could offer it was better than nothing. He had only spent one night with the eccentric Paladins and he was already becoming attached. He even liked Coran!  _ Yes, staying with them would be worth the Princesses hate, the Champions avoidance.  _ He just had to find a way to make that actually happen. 

 

Lance withdrew his notebook and flipped to a clean page. He pointedly ignored how he could see the Princess stiffen out of the corner of his eye. If he was going to have any chance of staying she would be the one to start with. She would be the hardest to convince. He pushed himself to his feet and moved to her side, purposely leaving his cloak. The cloak hid a Druids body, and helped in the idea that they were nothing more than wisps of shadow. Without it it was harder to deny that a Druid was a flesh and blood creation. When he reached the Princesses side Lance took a moment to write out his question before flipping the notebook around her her to see. 

 

_ What would you like to know about the Galra Empire?  _

 

The Princess read the message, squinting slightly to see in the low light. Lance held himself very still as she looked up to meet where his eyes would have been without the mask. The Princess was not good at hiding her emotions, and unlike her Paladins she did not cover her face. 

 

        “I- What?” 

 

Breaking eye contact felt like he was admitting defeat, he had spent to much time with Galra and their Dominance battles. But he needed to see what he was writing. 

 

_         I am offering you whatever answers you want. History, battle formations, the locations of a few labs, prison cell codes, anything that I have knowledge on given freely.  _

 

The Princess read his answer and glared back up at him. She shoved up to her feet to try and look down her nose at him even if she were shorter. He ignored the urge to cower under her hard gaze, any sign of weakness would be seen as a diversion. 

 

        “What are you trying to pull? Do you think you could slide into our good graces so easily? Our  _ trust?”  _ she practically spat the last word like something disgusting. 

 

It stung, but Lance ignored her derision. He had already known that they would never trust him. Offering anything but Zarkons head on a stick wouldn't change that. 

 

_         I expect nothing more than for you to use what I offer to aid in the destruction of the Empire.   _

 

She barely glanced at his words before the Princess narrowed her eyes and stepped into his personal space. 

 

        “Do you honestly think I believe that? That a loyal Druid could ever be anything than one of Zarkons puppets?” 

 

Lance ignored the crackling of the Princesses quintessence. Ignored how it prickled across his skin and made him want to summon his own. He could feel the cuffs warming against his skin as his hackles raised. He lowered his head enough that the tip of his mask grazed his chest and took a deep breath in through his nose before beginning to write again. 

 

_        I don't care what you believe. I have my own reasons for wanting the Galra beaten, and will use whatever I have at my disposal to help realize that goal.  _

 

The Princess bared her teeth and Lance copied the move under his mask. His fangs were bigger even if she couldn't see his. 

 

        “Oh you have your  _ reasons  _ do you? Please enlighten me. Were your people slaughtered and your planet destroyed also?” 

 

Lances grip on his self control began to slip just a little bit. His quintessence lashed through his body, brushing against the cuffs and earning him a quiet beep. He drew himself up to his full height and let his body show what his quintessence couldn't. The Princess ignored the danger signs he was putting off and instead leant further into his personal space. There was only an inch of room between them now. 

 

_         I do not have a planet or people. If I did once it was before Hagar drug me out of the Void to be her next plaything. So yes, I have my void damned reasons to want them gone, it would be smart of you to look past your hatred and realize that other people can be hurt beyond your all seeing eyes.  _

 

The Princess reared out of his personal space a mixture of shock/anger/confusion on her face. Lance breathed a silent sigh and tried to reign in his aggression, he had been cruel and he knew it. The Princess was justified in her feelings, even when they were annoying. For her it had been less than a week since she awoke to find everything she had ever known and loved destroyed at the hand of someone who had once been close as family. 

 

         “I- what is that marking on your chest?” 

 

The abrupt subject change knocked Lance off his orbit. He really expected more barbs not to be questioned over his brand? 

 

_         It’s a brand. Haggar lays them on all the Druids to claim our life as her own when we are still fresh from the Voids grips.  _

 

Truly he barely remembered getting branded. Those first few quintants out of the Void were just a mixture of pain and confusion as his tattered soul tried to reform in the land of the living. The only reason getting branded had stood out was it allowed Haggar to rip into the energies that made him a real conscious being for the first time. It was with the brand that she laid ownership over the very core of him. 

 

The Princess looked horrified, like a branding was worse than what she had expected. It shouldn't have been. Lance traced a hand over the brand pressed above his heart, it always ran hotter than the rest of his skin or any of his other scars. Shaped like the Galra crest he knew that it glowed sickly neon purple to those who could see color. A very visible sign of ownership. 

 

        “You- She- Haggar, she pulled you from the Void?” the Princess stuttered. 

 

Lance nodded and started to write his response. He remembered the Void. Or more like the effects of it. The sense of being nothing, surrounded by nothing, like any stray thought could be the thing that finally destroyed him. He didn’t know how long he spent there before Haggar. Before he felt a scrap of quintessence and latched onto it, how disgustingly thankful he was when he managed to follow it back to the realm of the living and claw his way to freedom. Pitifully weak and reeling from the pure agony of coming back to life made him easy pickings for Haggar, and she was quick to scoop him up. 

 

_         Yes. Or in truth she sent her quintessence into the Void and I traced it back. That is how Druids are created, from nothing more than wisps of souls.  _

 

The Princess looked like she was about to throw up. If he was remembering correctly then the Alteans had believed death was the final honor, that once their souls dissolved into the Void they would move on to some kind of peace.  _ As much as I know that's not true, it's probably disturbing to know Haggar made it a game to meddle with something that the Princess would have almost worshiped.  _ Her hand twitched, almost as if she wanted to reach out and touch Lance. He subtly leaned away and the Princess shook her head a few times. She took a deep breath and seemed to regain control of herself. 

 

        “We will rip the Galra up from their roots, and what you can offer may be able to help. They have ruined countless lives, more than just our own no matter how harrowing it was in our eyes.” 

 

Lance crinkled his nose under his mask. Her words were fine, but the apologetic tone and sorrow in her eyes was more than he wanted aimed at him. 

 

_         I do not expect or request your pity, all I desire is to end this war and take back what was stolen from me. Your people are dead, your planet is destroyed, but at least you have memories of the happy times with your people. I don't even have that. _

 

The Princess read what he wrote and looked up with the tiniest of smiles on one corner of her mouth. Her eyes were still harder than the crystals found in a weblums gut, but for once she didn't give off threatening vibes. 

 

        “I think I can handle that. Let us go to the lounge and get some proper sleep, we can discuss what you know in the morning.” 

 

Princess Allura strode off, leaving Lance to walk behind her at a slightly slower walk. He felt like he had just sealed his fate, only time would tell how it affected him and those he cared for. Maybe they would all fail, maybe the Empire would once again be victorious, but they would make the attempt. Voltron had the possibility of winning and he fully intended to guide them on their way. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uh yea I'm here now. *side eyes the last season* so that happened. We're just gonna shove that in a box, put that box under the bed, and pretend it never existed! this chapter is over double my normal length, and the only reason I cut it here was because my laptop doesn't like huge file uploads. The next chapter has about five pages already done yay. My shoutouts for this chapter is,,,,,, Ani for being the best little writing fairy, Ro for telling me to stop being stupid and get to work, and all my lovely commenters for continuing to give me good vibes and feeding my need for validation. love yall, now to go eat cold Chinese for breakfast and hope this gets noticed.


	6. Freedom Always Comes at a Price

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *hums the mission impossible theme while sneaking in to chuck the newest chapter.* i am here and hoooooo boy things are happening! how about y'all have a 25 page (jeezus so much writing) chapter of all the good shit. unedited as always. shout out for this chapter DEFINITELY goes to Cap who essentially slapped me with a fish and said to stop whining and actually write lol.

_ CHAMPION! CHAMPION! CHAMPION! _

 

Shiro ripped himself out of sleep with the echoing remains of chanting chasing him. He tried so hard to keep the memories buried, but flashes of pain and blood soaked sand crept into his dreams. He didn't know whether to be thankful or sickened that it seemed like he didn't need as much sleep anymore. At best guess he had escaped a week ago, and had only gotten maybe three hours of sleep each night. But he still felt refreshed and had no need for a nap. 

 

There was no telling all the havoc the Druids had wreaked on his system. He had already noticed a few things, his sleeping, his reflexes, he could see better in the dark now, the food goo didn’t upset his stomach like the other kids, the language translating chip inserted behind his left ear. Shiro didn't even want to think about the monstrosity that had replaced his arm.  _ I used to be right handed.  _ He had already crushed more than one thing in the metal hands grip, he needed to get used to its strength before he accidentally hurt someone. A friendly hand on the shoulder could easily lead to a trip to the med bay if he wasn’t very mindful of the force. 

 

Shiro rolled out of the small cot bed that came with the bunk rooms and stood in the center of the small space. It was entirely too early to be up and about, or at least he thought it was. The rooms did have clocks but the numbers were in Altean and didn't translate. He could roughly guess it would be around 3 A.M in Earth time, give or take an hour in either direction. He had always been able to rely on his sense of time, even after being strapped to a Druid table for days on end he still had that. 

 

And wasn’t that an issue. Allura’s pet Druid, meant to be kept close for ‘studying’ the Princess insisted. The thing hit too close to memories of _ begging-bleeding-pleading  _ that made up large swathes of his last year. No matter how many small ticks it seemed to have, random moments that could be almost called human, it was a Druid. They had seen how it reacted when Pidge woke up, how it had attacked. Hell the thing apparently didn't even need to eat, just surviving off the evil power that made it. It seemed to sleep, but was so easily woken Shiro couldn’t believe it actually rested.

 

He walked out of his dorms turning the issue over in his mind. Allura thought she knew best, and it was true that the Druids were a huge threat. They would need to learn everything they could about all of the Galra forces, not just basic Galra. He knew that amongst the prisoners there had been a few mutterings of rebel forces gathering in the far pockets of the universe. He knew for a fact of at least one time a spy had been caught, and thrown into the arena to get ripped to shreds. 

 

He was headed to the cafeteria when the ships alarms started blaring. It was proof of his training and year spent in the arena that he didn’t panic, just started to jog in the direction he hoped was the Bridge. He met up with Coran on the way, the older Altean nodding once then matching his jog. They made it to the Bride before any of the other Paladins, just Allura and the Druid looking at some kind of report. 

 

Allura looked up and gave them a smile, “good you're here, we are receiving a distress signal that is on our way to the Balmera. It looks like a simple cargo carrier has run into some engine trouble. It would do Voltron well if we could start spreading word of good deeds early on before any actual bloodshed happens.” 

 

Shiro held in a grimace t the thought of yet more bloodshed. There were always casualties in war, something he knew well, but that didn’t make it any easier. The doors slid open, revealing Pidge Hunk and Keith all in their armor. He had to hold in a smile when they marched into the room with all the stiffness of new cadets, though Keith drawing his bayard was as smooth as any old soldier. He pointed it at the Druid who just turned a blank masked stare on him for a moment before it looked back at the report. 

 

Allura wasn’t even paying it any attention. It just stood off to the side and slightly ahead of her like it was natural. Quite the difference from just the day before when there had been death threats casually thrown around. It almost seemed relaxed, just lingering tension held across its shoulders. More like it didn’t know how to relax, Shiro had seen it in battle hardened veterans more than what looked to not be much older than a teenager. 

 

“We are receiving a distress signal, it has been decided that we will stop on our way to the Balmera and help a cargo ship with engine problems.” 

 

Shiro held in a sigh at Allura,  _ they  _ had not decided anything. He hadn’t protested, but there was none of the checking validity or readying the team that would be needed. He let her bulldoze ahead, she was still learning and he could always put his foot down in private not in front of the kids.  He listened to Hunk protest, wanting to hurry to the Balmera as soon as possible. Listened to Keith ask if it was safe, always wary of helping other people out. Pidge just cocked her head and slid closer to the report, slinging a casual two fingered salute to the Druid. The thing just nodded not even looking her direction. 

 

“Yes, we are checking the distress signal for any signs of it being a Galra trap right now. Hunk I know you're anxious to go, but this is on our way and if these are good people we don't want to leave them at the mercy of empty space.” Allura kept her voice kind but firm. 

 

She turned back to the Druid who had leaned in closer to study one specific line of data. Shiro couldn’t read it, the translation implant behind his ear doing nothing on the digits. It cocked its head and used a motion to single out the code. 

 

“Have you found something that says they could be Galra?" Allura asked the Druid. 

 

Shiro was very lost. As of last night the Princess had been just as likely to kill the Druid as she was to look at it. Now she was asking its advice? It shrugged and waved its hand in a so-so motion before grabbing the notebook laid off to the side. 

 

_ They are employed by the Galra same as just about anyone else. Make most of their money by scavenging shipwrecks in the far reaches, don't cause more than the average amount of trouble. There’s something strange in the code here, but it is probably nothing.  _

 

Shiro arched a brow. So the Druid was helping them now, either of its own choice or Allura threatened it into submission. He didn’t like the idea of questionable code, but Pidge was already shooing the Druid away to look at the code herself. It went easily, drifting off to the side to stand. 

 

“I want the Paladins to train, we need to see where everyone's skill sets are so that we can figure out personal workout schedules.” Allura looked at Shiro in question. 

 

He nodded, already making plans. Pidge and Hunk would need the most fighting work, they both had Garrison training but it would be nice for them to get more comfortable with fighting dirty. Keith would be good in fighting, he just needed to get used to teamwork and how to respond when he wasn’t the one in charge. Shiro himself would need to do some fighting, relearn his limits and capabilities after everything the Druids did. 

 

“Coran, I want you to take Druid for a few Vargas while the Paladins train.” 

 

The adviser nodded, sending a quick smile to his new charge. The Druid didn’t respond, still focusing on the one bit of code. Pidge had abandoned it, seemingly not finding anything worth worrying about. 

 

“Good, you are all free to go eat some breakfast.” 

 

The Princess nodded at them once and swept out of the room. Shiro watched after her, noting how heavy her steps were and guessing she would be off to get some sleep after staying up all night. 

 

“Lets try and get some training in before food, I don’t want anyone to get sick.” 

 

The three kids nodded, and followed Shiro out leaving Coran and the Druid behind. He did his best to ignore the feeling that someone was staring at him, just kept moving. The Princess could deal with her own problem, he wanted no part in it.   

 

``````

 

Lance followed Coran through the halls being sure to try and map where everything was. From the bridge it was a right and two lefts to get to the kitchen. From the kitchen it was back tacking one left and making another right, then sticking to the left when the corridor split in a Y to find the way to the bedrooms. He had not been to the training area, but once he got stuck with Keith Lance could bet he would end up there. The more he could learn about the Castle and all its hiding spots the better. He would need to be able to hide when he finally made a break for it, his main concern was still the Champion. 

 

The way the Champion had spoken he had been close to Matt. Lance knew that three humans had been picked up at the same time, the Champion, Matt and Matt's father. Lance had never met the oldest human, Zarkon had him sent away near immediately. In their endless talks Matt would speak of another Garrison soldier that he had developed feelings for and sorely missed. While Matt had never specifically said any names Lance was starting to have the sinking feeling he knew who his friend meant. The Druid knew that if he was successful in freeing Matt then the human would want to find his fellows that had been abducted at his side. 

 

As he glided along behind the kind Adviser Lance tried to think how he could best protect his friend. He had no doubt that Matt would want to go to the Champion, that he would want to help Voltron. The boy was to headstrong and loyal to do anything different. The only problem would be Merla. Not only did Lance not actually know where she was, the Galra girl could never come to the castle. The Paladins were quickly following in the Alteans Galra hating footsteps. Merla may have only been a half breed but she took after her mother in more than attitude. The first time she smarted off or lashed out in frustration would be a death sentence. 

 

He could already picture how that situation would go. Merla had been the one to teach both Matt and himself how to fight. Though it would be amazing to see her go against the Champion. Or to see how well she would navigate the endless white and grey halls that made up the castle ship. Lance loved Merla like a sister he never had but she could get lost walking a straight line on the ship she had born in. Her gifts had always been the kind that left her grinning around a mouthful of blood. 

 

The only reason Merla had lasted long enough to get close to Lance was that Haggar found her bloodthirsty nature entertaining. She had spent her own time in the Arena, coming out with a synthetic jaw and horrors staining her mind. Lance had found her soon after, waking her from sleepwalking and having his wrist broken for his trouble. They made fast friends after their disastrous first meeting, and stayed that way even when separated for quintants. Lance would give near anything to have her with him. 

 

Instead he was left alone, following Coran through yet more halls. The Advisor had said something about wanting to check out the engines in the bowels of the castle. In all honesty Lance was still unsure how a Castle could also be a Ship. Though to be fair he was prisoner to a bunch of people that had some kind of connection to massive semi conscious lions, his previous employer was easily 10,000 years old, and he himself had come back from the dead. So maybe the weirdness was relative. 

 

Coran suddenly jerked to a stop causing Lance to nearly run into his back. They stood beside a set of truly massive double doors, the same slate grey as every other door they had passed so far. The only reason he could think of them stopping was the sudden drop in temperature. Even through his cloak the cold wrapped its hands around his skin and clung. Within moments he was shivering though Coran didn’t seem to mind, maybe it was an Altean thing.    

 

“This is the Lion Den. When not in use on a mission the Lions stay in their hanger, going through external doors when the need arises.” 

 

Lance swallowed around the sudden knot in his throat. He almost wanted to protest as Coran quickly opened the doors but he didn’t. The doors sliding open released a burst of air that was painful in its frigidness, chewing through his thick cloak like a Gangra. The quickly familiar sound of the cuffs beeping started once again as Lance instinctively tried to summon his quintessence. More than the cold and wind, the open door unleashed a flood of rage. 

 

Coran bounced into the Den with not a single care, Lance following along slower. The only lion in the Den had to be Blue, with Hunk Keith and Pidge out doing training. She sat static with a particle barrier up but he knew she was aware. The feeling of eyes on him prickled across Lances skin. The great beast was powered off, not even her eyes glowing, but all the same he felt her watching. He brought his notebook out and started writing slowly while glancing up every couple of letters, if he moved to quickly he felt she might spring to life.

 

_ This Lion is dangerous _

 

Coran raised his eyebrows and motioned for Lance to continue. The adviser took another few steps forwards to the glowing barrier but Lance stayed pressed to the wall.

 

_ she is... cold _

 

He wasn’t sure how to accurately write out the aura he was picking up on. Even without his quintessence the age long rage pouring from the beast was palpable. Haggar had always insinuated that the Lions had some form of faint sentience, but he had never believed it. If anything he expected them to just reflect their Paladins emotions, not whatever the Blue Lion was putting out.  

 

“Cold?”

 

Lance nodded and breathed a slight sigh as Coran walked back to him.

 

“The old girl is usually one of the kinder Lions, maybe you’re picking up on something else. Blue has always been quoted as the most easy going, the peacekeeper between the rest of the Pride.”

 

Lance just shrugged, he knew what he was feeling even if Coran brushed it off. As they walked out of the hall he fought the urge to peek behind him. He could feel the hard gaze of the silent Blue Lion even after the door slid closed. The shivery sense of being judged followed him all the way to the engine rooms, and stayed long after. 

 

They made their way to the engine room, Lance watched Coran fiddle with a few things before he settled in a corner with his back against the wall. He could easily meditate, and it would probably be smart too, but he wasn’t in the right head space. His mind was bouncing from subject to subject, nervous energy making him twitchy. He wrote a few lines about Druid capabilities, but that just made his insides feel slimy. He would gladly give the Paladins every ounce of knowledge he had but just thinking about what they could and would do, what  _ he  _ could do felt wrong. 

 

Choosing to focus on other secrets for the moment Lance started to write about the few instances he had interacted with Rebels. Being skilled in slipping into other people minds had made him valuable, and Haggar had been quick to use him. Early on he learned that selling out a few rebels would keep him off the experimentation tables, and relatively sane. Most of the time he only had to give up a grunt or two, doing his best to keep any of the higher up spies hidden. He wrote down any names he could remember, and what position the held or once held in the army. 

 

He wrote about some of the Druids favorite labs, where they liked to take prisoners and see how they could twist them like new toys. He intentionally did not mention some of the truly secret labs hidden in the deep pockets of uninhabited space. There wasn’t anything worth saving in those ones, and if the Paladins ended up in one of those labs they wouldn’t be leaving again. Or at least they wouldn’t be walking out as themselves, instead Haggar's newest pets. So he didn’t mention them. Even after his death he would try and protect Voltron.  

 

Lance wrote anything and everything that came to mind, whatever might help Voltron. It was Vargas later when he finally looked up and realized that Coran had sat and was just watching him with steepled hands. Lance froze, hand tight around his pencil. He somehow felt like he had done something wrong, even as Coran smiled and twitched his moustache. He slowly closed the notebook, keeping his pencil in place for later he resisted the urge to pull his knees up to his chest and try to make himself a smaller target, so far he hadn’t been punished for upsetting anyone and he didn’t want to make them think of it. 

 

“I think I’m just about done here, why don't we head back up for some dinner with the others.”

 

_ Damn, I didn’t realize how long it had been. I was writing for a while.  _ He pushed himself to his feet, easily falling back into the roll of silent still Druid. Coran lead the way, if Lance had tried he couldn’t guarantee he would actually make it where he was aiming. The walk was once again silent, just the sound of Corans footsteps until they got close enough to hear the Paladins laughing and chattering. When they entered the dining hall the noise abruptly cut off, Lance barely caught a glance of Keith's face before he was activating the mirrored mask. 

 

Lance paid them no mind. He just nodded in the Princesses direction before moving to the empty space at the end of the table. He could feel the Paladins untrusting gazes, but he just opened his notebook and started a rough sketch of Corans mustache. He focused on trying to get the exact roundness and eventually the conversation picked back up as the attention shifted. Eventually everyone finished up, silence falling once more as they waited for the Princess to speak. 

 

“Druid, you will be going with Shiro for the night. I trust that you both will be on best behavior and not need me to come fix your issues.” 

 

Lance snorted silently. He would have been surprised if that had actually been aimed at him. More likely the dear Champion had gone to complain to the Princess and was getting subtly berated for it. He nodded sharply, and Lance pushed up out of his chair easily giving the Princess a little half bow. They moved away from the dining hall in frigid silence, the Champion doing his best statue impression. They reached the room he was using, and the Champion went into the connected bathroom without a second glance. Lance assumed what was becoming his standard position, sitting in a corner with his back to the wall. 

 

When the Champion came back out he sat on the bed facing Lance with his own back against the wall. Stony silence filled the air with tension, but there was really no way to fix it. He doubted the the Champion would answer and conversation he tried to start up. Instead he turned his attention back inwards to meditate. Not like he had anything better to do. 

 

```

 

Vargas later Lance was drawn out of his meditation when the Champion roused. He was panting and looked panicked, but gained control of himself quickly. The Champion looked over at him and Lance stayed still with his head slightly tucked. Eventually he turned back over and laid with his back facing Lance. The night passed like that, in silence and resounding boredom.   

 

The next morning they went back to the dining hall. The silence was really starting to grate on Lance. He wanted to be busy or doing something or talking to someone. At the moment he would even take running errands for one of the proper Druids because it would be something to  _ do.  _ Once again he spent the day shadowing Coran, though this time they stayed in the Bridge while Allura plotted their course. His attention caught on the odd bit of code once again. For some reason it just tickled the back of his mind. 

 

When the Paladins came back to the Bridge in their full garb Lance perked up. They were getting close to the pings from those traders, and they would go help. Since his Lion was not yet active Shiro would be riding with Hunk in the next biggest Lion. they headed out, once again leaving Lance alone with nothing to do but write and doodle. He kept half an ear on what was happening, but only tuned in when the voices got frantically loud without warning. 

 

“What do you mean you can't find Pidge?!” Alura snapped. 

 

He felt his heart drop out his chest. Little Pidge, who actually asked him questions and stood up for him. Nothing was allowed to happen to her. He snapped to attention, stalking to the Princesses side. She didn’t even side eye him, focusing fully on the comms as they tried to find the smallest Paladin. Once more his eye was drawn to the strange little bit of code and everything clicked.  _ I am a dumbass! Those are high level encryptions, used for contacting sub commanders no wonder they are familiar.  _

 

He grabbed the Princess arm, gesturing to the code and reaching one handed for his notebook. 

 

_ Galra. They have Pidge, you have to find her before they take her where you can't follow.  _

 

Terror filled the Princesses face, and she nodded once before sprinting away. Lance paced back and forth in front of the huge Bridge window. Pidges coms had gone silent over a Varga ago. The worry that pounded through his system kept making his quintessence jump in his system. The damn cuffs around his wrists kept beeping but after the first handful of times Coran had stopped flinching. Everyone was looking for her, even the Princess in a single person carrier. 

 

He was never meant to get attached, hell he had only spent three quintants on the castle with the Paladins and he already was. In all his time he had been so careful to avoid allowing people close to his heart and he failed with the second biggest threat in the universe. Pidge reminded him so strongly of Matt with her sarcasm and dry wit, Hunk was so purely  _ good,  _ the Champion was just interesting to watch, and Keith was at least pretty to look at. He was quickly growing fond of the Paladins and when they drug a fuming Pidge in by her scruff he couldn't stop a sigh of relief. 

 

"Pidge you must be more careful! you are now a protector of the galaxy and you have to act like one." The Princess scolded. 

 

Pidge huffed and crossed her arms. Lance would bet that she had been getting the same speech since they found her, and the Princess was furious. He knew just how well she could give a tongue lashing and felt for the small girl, but she did deserve it a bit. If the Galra got ahold of Voltron then that would kill the last hope they had. 

 

"Allura is right Pidge-" Shiro started,

  
  


“What does it matter?!” Pidge screamed. 

 

They all flinched back, even the furious Princess. The raw pain coming from the tiny girl was more than Lance had expected. Pidge chucked her drawn bayard to the side, Lance watched it vanish before hitting the ground and slid his eyes back to the distressed Paladin. 

 

“What would it matter if I got kidnapped or killed or turned into fucking goo?!” she continued, “The only reason any of you would care is because of some bullshit about Volton! You could find another Green Paladin and move on without any problems. You don't care the same way as everyone back home, don't try and pretend like you do.” 

 

Pidge cut herself off with a gasp and shoved her hands under the edges of her helmet. Though he still couldn't see her face, Lance could easily read the pain and sorrow in her stance. The way she curled into herself tickled something in the back of his mind, something that he couldn't quite place. Hunk made a little broken noise and lunged forwards with speed his larger size usually concealed. He gathered the girl in his arms and lifted her up in a tight hug. After just a moment the Champion also joined, and after another second Keith pressed against the side of the group hug. It would have been sweet if Lance could shake the rage curled around his heart free. 

 

He was quickly becoming possessive of the littlest Paladin. The thought of someone,  _ anyone,  _ upsetting or hurting her had quintessence twisting low in his belly. If he had his way he would rip her would be attackers to shreds, then prove to her just how much she was starting to mean. Lance didn’t plan to get attached, and he could only stay for another day. It would be hard to walk away from the Paladins he was starting to like against his own will, but he had no other choice. That didn't mean he had to let Pidge think he didn't actually care for her though. 

 

“Pidge,” the Princess started, Lance gritted his teeth as he waited for her to cause more damage, “I’m sorry.” the Princess whispered.

 

Lance raised an eyebrow behind his mask. The Paladin group hug dissolved though none of them moved more than a step away as they turned to the Princess. They were all waiting for what she would say, even Coran still standing behind her. 

 

“I should not have insinuated that i was only interested in your safety for Voltrons sake. Yes our mission is incredibly important but we cant do it without you. None of us should ever dream of replacing you, because you are one of us. You are more than a soldier in a war you didn't ask for, you are family.” 

 

Lance was… actually impressed. He really hadn’t expected a sincere apology, much less something so heartfelt. Even the way the Princess involved herself as part of the family she spoke of didn't seem forced. There were times it was easy to forget the Princess was still very young, and so very alone. Pidge didn't seem near as impressed as he was. She just stiffly nodded once and held still as if waiting to be yelled at again. That just wouldn't do. He glided forwards watching how the wary Paladins stiffened and came to a stop in front of Pidge.

 

Pulling out his notebook Lance started to write, “If they had so much as bruised you then their last few vargas of life would be filled with misery before i fed their souls to the Void.” 

 

He hadn’t really reacted her to react well to the threat of violence, but he wouldn’t lie to her. Pidges face was still hidden by the mirrored mask, but she did not jerk away from him. Instead she went totally still before collapsing into his chest. Lance stood with the small trembling girl in his arms and not a single idea what to do. Honestly he couldn’t clearly remember the last time someone had willingly touched him to do anything but hurt. Carefully he wrapped his arms around her slim shoulders letting his notebook fall in favor of a hug. 

 

Pidges armor dug into his chest but it wasn’t so bad, and easily ignored by how tightly the girl clung to him. Lance drew her in closer and tucked the edge of his mask over her shoulder. That faint memory still tickled in the back of his mind. Something that he couldn't quite reach but was slowly coming closer. Since he had escaped the Void there had been very few moments of comfort, so the memory had to have  _ before.  _ Before he was just another Druid. In another lifetime. 

 

Lance clung a tiny bit tighter when Pidge finally drew away. He didn’t want to let her go, loose the comfort of of the hug. He forced his hands to unclench and tucked them into the sleeves of his cloak as he stepped away. He glanced at the other Paladins, and caught the Champions side eye glare. He tucked his chin down and hunkered a bit further into his cloak. Pidge moved back to the middle of the group and sighed as she brought up a holo screen. 

 

“The traders were trying to sell the Green Lion and myself to the Galra for amnesty. They think we are headed back to Aros, I don’t doubt that they will sell that information as soon as they can.” 

 

“Well then, I guess we can go to the Balmera with haste.” 

 

```

 

They reached the Balmera, even from high above the atmosphere Lance was struck with how  _ dead _ the planet was. There were no plants, all he could see was endless wasteland. They landed quickly, the Princess going out to speak with the Balmerans and to apparently free Hunks Balmeran friend. Lance just paced. The second the three active Paladins were out of his sight he started worrying. There was so much that could go wrong, and it had already been proven that even something simple could go sideways. 

 

He listened in on their conversations, just to ensure their safety. When he felt a surge of quintessence that was all to familiar in its burn he reached out and snagged Shiro's shoulder. The man was turning his head when a roar split the air. Falling through the air was one of the massive RoBeasts the Haggar had been experimenting on. 

 

“Paladins, we have Company!” 

 

The three Lions leapt into action, doing their best to stop the beast. Allura sprinted back into the Castle, her boots thudding against the floor the closer she got. She made it to the Bridge just as the first blast crashed against the Particle Barrier. They all wavered as the Castle shook and Allura whirled on Coran. 

 

“I have to get back down there, the planet is dying. Within vargas the Balmera will be nothing more than a lifeless husk and all her people will perish along with her. They  refuse to leave, But I can save them. If the Lions can keep the beast distracted I can perform the Quintessence Healing you told me about.” 

 

Lance felt cold dread slide through his belly. He knew what the Princess spoke of, and knew that not even Haggar would attempt it. 

 

“Princess-” Coran tried but she cut him off. 

 

“I can't let a whole planet and people be wiped out because of the Galra Coran. Not if I can fix it.” 

 

Lance shook his head and walked to stand directly in front of her. 

 

_ This is not about the Planet. This is about a quintessence transference large enough to heal the Balmera would not just kill you. It would shred through your mind and leave you a gibbering husk before you slowly withered away. There wouldn’t even be enough of your soul to rot in the Void.  _

 

Quintessence poisoning was a very real threat, and always deadly. Lance had never seen a single person overcome it, not even a Master Druid that Haggar intentionally let die. But it was the wrong thing to say, in response he could see the Princess eyes harden to solid ice. 

 

“I do think I know my own limits. I would trust that Haggar does not care enough to attempt, cruel as she is. I can make my own decisions.” 

 

Lance threw his hands into the air and turned his back on the frustrating  _ child.  _ If she wanted to ignore everything he had to say then fine, there would just be no one left who had even half an idea on what to do with Voltron. The Princess spoke quietly to Coran, argued more like. Another blast hit them, shaking the Castle once more. 

 

“I am doing this.” She said with finality. 

 

She strode away, ignoring their protests as she went. Lance moved back to look out the bridge window as Coran activated her comms filling the air with the faint sounds of panting and running. He turned her out, choosing instead to focus on the Lions still battling. At the first whimper Lance tore is eyes from the battle outside. He looked back at Coran who was standing at the control panel and gnawing on his lower lip.  _ Damn Princess refusing to listen to anyone, doing the opposite just for spite.  _ For the first time in a very long time he had no idea what to do. 

 

In all his existence as just another Druid hid future had been planned out. There had never been much room for the unexpected. When he had slowly started to become  _ Lance  _ his options had opened up more. But, even then, next to nothing had been his choice. Not his name, not what he did in a day, not even when he would next eat. 

 

Now he had a choice to make. The Princess could not be allowed to die. Voltron could not be allowed to fall. The Paladins he had reluctantly started to care for could not be allowed to fail. Honestly it wasn't a hard choice, because what was more important? The life of one soon to be dead and turn coat Druid, or the whole of Voltron. 

 

He tried to tell himself that the shaking in his hands was from the cold. It actually was freezing, he noticed distantly. Cold to his very core. Lance clenched his numb fingers around the edge of his cloak as he hesitated. Taking one last deep breath Lance pushed his cloak off his shoulders and stood in just his leggings. He moved away from the window, feeling Shiros eyes locked between his shoulder blades. Coran looked up with a quirked eyebrow, Lance didn't miss how his eyes darted down to his brand. 

 

Lance smiled grimly under the mask that kept him so separate. He was about to make the most un-Druid like thing he had ever done. Maybe in the long run the Paladins would even remember him. If they ever found Matt then the connection might even be made. The one Druid who gave his life for Voltron, for the liberation of countless galaxies. He pulled out his notebook and flipped through the filled pages.

 

Such a small thing, yet it gave Lance more freedom than he had ever expected. Even while chained and constantly being watched the ability to communicate was astonishing. He had already filled so many pages in the few quintants he had had it. Form arguing with the Princess, to chatting with Pidge and Hunk, to the countless notes and doodles that filled the pages. He had already wrote out everything he knew about Druids, Haggar, and the imposing figure of Zarkon. He had always planned on leaving the notebook for the Paladins, but it was just happening a little quicker.  He just had one final note to make.

 

_ At last knowledge the human Matthew Holt was on planet Gnocs serving under Haggar. When you find him ask about Merla, she is a Galran spy for the resistance and will be exceedingly helpful.  _

 

Lance handed the notebook to Coran, and while the man read over it Lance started plunging deep into the reserves of his quintessence. He had been able to escape for over a quintant, and it had only been his bleeding heart that kept him around.  _ And I can see where that got me.  _ As the Altean looked up from the last note Lance bowed deeply. In the space between one heart beat and the next Lance ripped through the bonds, releasing a truly gods awful noise that drilled into his ears. 

 

Shiro and Coran let out twin horrified squacks, but Lance was already gone. He flung himself into the space between reality and vanished. The sensitive skin of his chest lit up under the brand, channeling quintessence through his system. Lance ignored the spreading pain and focused on the Princess. Normally finding someone while teleporting was incredibly difficult, but the quintessence the Princess was attempting to wield lit up his consciousness like a beacon. 

 

Lance crash landed on the Balmera besides the Princess and was instantly knocked to his knees by the onslaught. If the mask didn't muzzle him then the strangled grunt would have made it past his teeth. It  _ burned,  _ more than being branded, more than Haggar's electricity attacks. He had no idea how the Princess had held out as long as she had. He struggled his way up from his knees and looked around. They stood in the middle of the pure energy beam, he could just barely see the kneeling Balmerans. 

 

Allura whimpered low in her throat, reminding Lance why he was enduring the pain. She was looking into the middle distance, tears running down her face, tendons popping and teeth bared. Lance carefully pulled her helmet off, releasing her hair to whip in the rushing energy. She didn’t even glance at him, attention locked on something he couldn't sense. He stepped closer, peering into her eyes. If she was already dead and only kept animated by the quintessence it would be to late. Slowly, so slowly the Princess blinked a touch of awareness entering her face.

 

“P-Papa?” 

 

Lance cringed to himself. She wasn’t dead at least, but how did he seem anything like King Alfor. Her mind might be ruined, but if he could at least keep her alive the rest of the Paladins could deal with the rest. Moving was like working against gravity, but Lance managed to raise his hands. He pressed his finger tips against the brightly glowing marks on her cheeks. The Princess sucked in air through her teeth and blinked rapidly her eyes clearing. 

 

“Druid?” the Princess croaked. 

 

Lance nodded, even as he locked his knees to keep from falling again. If he thought the pain had been intense before, that was nothing to when he started sharing the burden with the Princess. His body and soul were on fire, except for his brand. The brand burned, but with cold, a deeper ache than even the quintessence. 

 

_ What are you doing?  _

 

Lance jerked his head away from the deep voice booming in his head. It was frigid and filled with so much rage that he wanted to instinctively back down. He locked eyes with the Princess who looked jus t as bewildered.  

 

_ I will not allow the Princess, and by extension Voltron, to fall.  _ He answered the voice. 

 

The Princess jerked, her eyes going even wider. 

 

“Is that you?” she whispered. 

 

Lance nodded and squeezed his eyes closed as the Voice invaded his head once again,  _ What cost are you willing to pay? How far are you willing to go for your enemy?  _

 

Lance swallowed around the lump in his throat. He knew what would happen, but saying it allowed was somehow much harder than just acknowledging it. His carefully laid plans for the future crumbling around his ears.  

 

_ The cost doesn’t matter, Voltron will not fall.  _ He inserted all the steel and determination he could into his voice. 

 

The Princess gasped in his grasp and tried to pull away. Lance held on, not letting her escape. Silver lined her eyes, and he huffed.  _ Who could have predicted it, one of the last Alteans shedding a tear for her enemy.  _ Merla would never believe it. 

 

_ Are you sure young one?  _ The voice boomed, it had seemed to lose some of the rage and gotten a bit more gentle, or maybe he was getting used to it. 

 

_ Yes.  _

 

_ Then I will help you.  _

 

Lance hadn’t realized that they were in the eye of the storm. The quintessence had been overwhelming in its strength, the resurgence of energy knocked the both of them onto their knees. He was burning up from the inside out, much more and there would be nothing left of him. The Princess screamed through her teeth, head thrown back in pain. Even with the two of them sharing the burden, Lance wasn’t sure if they would survive. He tried to take more of the strain from the Princess, but he could barely handle what he already had. 

 

He slumped forwards, leaning against the Princess even as he kept his fingers pressed against her cheek marks. His brand still burned with unfamiliar cold, contrasting the agony of quintessence. The slow spread of frost crept through his body, leaving sudden numbness in its wake. He could feel the quintessence building to his breaking point. Lance felt more than heard the  _ snap  _ of his life force shattering before everything went black. 

 

_ He was sprinting for the edge of a cliff and had no way of slowing down. He was free falling through empty space, razor sharp rocks his only landing. He was another lost soul aimless amidst the Void, no memories to draw him back. He was nothing but the last cold breath of a dying man.  _

 

_ ``` _

 

They knelt at the center of an eruption of pure quintessence. The heat of such unrefined energy would have destroyed a lesser being, but They were the might of the Cosmos, Protector of the universe. Hosted in a mortal form but more. They rose to their feet, bringing the Guide of Voltron up with them. The Guide swayed on her feet, she spoke but the words meant nothing. 

 

They stepped away from the Guide, leaving her in the center of the energy. She would survive, the worst of the transference had passed. Crashing and distant roars reached their ears, their siblings were in danger. They turned their back on the Guide, made to walk away. Their bare foot caught on something, the tiny tinge of pain that they would normally not notice. Under their heel laid a broken piece of ivory, shaped like the bottom of a beak. Their foot left a smear of bright red across it,  _ blood,  _ somehow this pleased Them. 

 

The Guide tried to grab their wrist, They watched as frost spread across her gloved hand until she released them. Once again she spoke, the noise as useless as a buzzing fly. They left her in the grasp of the quintessence, they needed no guide for what was next. Their eyes locked on their siblings, on their  _ Pride.  _ Quick fire Red drawing the beasts attention, inquisitive Green attacking from behind, endlessly loyal Yellow protecting both. It was wrong, They should have been flying with their siblings, and with Black leading the charge. 

 

They threw their head back and  _ roared,  _ the sound ripping through their hosts throat and leaving the sick taste of blood. But the sound did not just come from them, it echoed from the Castle made for them. They bared their teeth in feral glee, finally they would be complete after the age long wait. A second roar filled the air, one they knew as well as their own. Black. They threw their heads back in another roar, this time joined by their siblings. 

 

They started to run across the Balmera, their host body twinging faintly. It was a foreign sensation pain, something they only felt through their host. This host was different from their last host, their last had lived the life of a Paladin long before They bonded. Their new host was fresh, the stain of corruption barely washed from his soul. They would not let this host go, they would cling to him, fully meld him to them until they were one. The bonding could be sped if They were in their own body, the body Reds last host built for them from star metal. 

 

Great wind pushed against them, slowing their sprint. They looked up and had to hold in another roar. Black hovered above them, and lowering to the planet surface was the Blue Lion. While part of Their consciousness inhabited their host, most resided in the Lion. to join the two together would make them One. They did not hesitate when the Lion landed and crouched to open its mouth, they just leapt up the gangway. The Lion was made for them,  _ of  _ them, it was where they belonged. 

 

They settled into the Captain's chair, fitted to this host like it had been crafted for them. Their hosts soul radiated awe from where it was buried deep in Their consciousness to heal. The remolding of their hosts soul had nearly killed him, would have if They had not intervened. They refused to lose another host, refused to let their Paladin fall once again. They gently urged their hosts soul a little farther forwards, let his mind surface enough to understand what they were doing. Their hands knew what to do, what buttons and levers to press to activate the great Blue Lion. 

 

They could feel the rest of their Pride tentatively initiating their bonds. The others were wary of Their host, did not trust the corruption that had practically dripped off him. But they would not allow for a tainted Paladin, so they shredded through the corruption that had linked him to some foul beast and refashioned him to be  _ Theirs.  _ No other being would lay claim on him unless they allowed it, and They would not. The other Lions would accept him with time, and they had plenty of it. Eventually they would even form Voltron and the Lions and their Paladins would see the brightness he shined with, even in the depths of the Void. 

 

A streak of black and purple crossed the sky, Leader Black finally entering the fray with their damaged Paladin. Black roared for them to fall into formation, the battle V instinct and habit. They had fought in countless battles, even battled their own Leader, a tainted beast would be nothing. They carved through the air, swooping around energy blasts and long armed blows. For so long they had been trapped in the dark, listening to cries of pain echoing through the universe and unable to do anything to help. 

 

In the joy of Their freedom it took to long for them to notice how the other Lions didn’t flow with them. It took until an easily blockable blow knocked them into the planet surface to realize that the Pride was disjointed. They had lost the synchronization they once had with their siblings. And their siblings hosts actively fought against the bonds, none more strongly than Black. They couldn’t help the sad rumble from deep within their chest as they crawled out of their crash site. 

 

_ It’s because of me.  _

 

Their hosts voice whispered through Their mind, clear sadness tainting it. They lashed their tail to relive some of their leaping anger. Their host was theirs, and the others  _ would  _ accept him. Otherwise they would have to accept Blue shutting back down and by extension Black. 

 

_ Don’t do that, the universe needs Voltron more than it needs me. When this is over you can accept another Paladin and make everyone happier.  _

 

The sorrow and regret coating Their hosts mind brought a fierce growl from them. They shoved their anger at the suggestion onto their host and wrapped him tighter in their conscious. He was Theirs and no one would take him away, not even himself. They pushed off the ground, the tainted beast would be a good outlet for the rage coloring their vision. They moved without the Pride, if their siblings would not accept them then they had no need for them. 

 

_ Be upset, but don't let them get hurt. Just Pidge Hunk, they did nothing to deserve your ire.  _

 

They grumbled, but made a note of Green and Yellow's location. They knew how little their host would ask for, and they would always do their best to provide. The sentiment pleased their host, if he had been in control of the body he may have been smiling. The contentment made Blue purr, even as they used their mouth beam to blast the beast. It was an amazing creation, the Pride had taken down many foe and it was on top. 

 

Their host was starting to flag. Between the quintessence transference and then Blue ripping through the taint covering him, then the mind meld he would not last long. He had already been weakening, the battle needed to end and quickly. They tried to pass that along to Black, who snarled through the bond. The Pride leader was just as frustrated as the rest of them, they much preferred battles to be clean cut and quick. They blasted the beast with ice, stilling it for a moment so the lions could regroup. The Paladins were speaking again, more useless noise. 

 

_ Let me listen, I can understand.  _

 

They grumbled, but let their host come forwards even more. Through his influence they could understand the words, but they just let him listen. 

 

"-not forming Voltron with that  _ thing!"  _

 

That was Reds Paladin spitting in disgust. Blue rumbled their displeasure but the host was not connected to his Lion well enough to understand. 

 

"Keith do you really think that Blue would accept the Druid if he wanted to hurt us? The Lions are smarter than that." 

 

Blue purred at Yellow's support. They were right of course. Suddenly Black dove for the ground, the other Lions scrambling to follow amid the Paladins yelping. The Lions settled in a rough circle, with Black focused squarely on Blue. Black was the only other Lion who was as closely bonded to their Paladin, They could just feel him brushing against the bonds. 

 

"Are you  _ certain  _ that the Druid means us no harm?" Came the head of Voltron unwavering voice. 

 

Just from hearing him he sounded strong and sure, but they could feel the hesitation he hid. They nodded anyway, with their hosts head and their own. He sighed and activated the button that allowed the Paladins faces to show. The four were all wearing helmets that obscured their faces, but They knew that they were watching their host. 

 

Green audibly sucked air through their teeth "what the-" 

 

"Later Pidge." Black cut in, "alright guys. Form Voltron!" 

 

The Lions roared together and their bonds fully lit up with life. They felt the trepidation of their host, but blew past it as the whole group leapt into the air. The flight sequence started, they were so close to fully rejoining Their siblings and becoming whole. They sent out their quintessence to fuse with Blacks already prepping to join together. They weren't expecting the energy to rebound, to crash back and rip into them. It hurtled them into the ground once again, pain and fear wracking them and their host. Momentarily Blue was confused, lost in a sea of ice and alone. 

 

It was the loneliness that shocked them back to full consciousness. They could no longer feel the glinting spark of their hosts mind. Frantically they turned their attention inwards, finding that rapidly fading spark and poring quintessence into it. They ignored the other Lions and their Paladins as they wrapped the whole of Their great being around the fragile spark. They  _ refused  _ to lose another Paladin, and they had almost been his downfall. In their hurry they had forgotten he was still hurt, and not ready to withstand Voltrons full might. 

 

Black forced them to attention by metaphorically grabbing them by the scruff and shaking. They could still feel the call of Voltron attempting to tug them back into trying again. They lashed out, grabbing the Lion bonds between their teeth. They sent out every bit of  _ worry-fear-pain  _ that filled them. The other Lions reared back and stopped trying to force Voltron. Blue settled some focusing more on their Paladin. 

 

"Was that  _ blue?" _ Reds host breathed. 

 

"I think it was, and she was terrified." Green answered. 

 

Their hosts body coughed bringing the taste of blood. They wiped their hands across their exposed mouth and came away streaked with red. Their host did not respond well to the attempt. 

 

“Think about it, the Druid has been fading for the past few days. Pidge and I noticed and are taking notes. Allura told us how straining forming Voltron for the first time would be, it stands to reason that he was just not ready yet.” Yellow said. 

 

“Well then how in the hell are we meant to beat this thing?” Red snapped. 

 

"Together, the Lions are still incredibly powerful even without forming Voltron. There are five of us and only one robeast, we can beat it and figure the rest out later. " Black silenced Red with a glare, reminding them of their duty as Voltron Paladins.

 

The hosts muttered in agreement, wary of what exactly that meant for the universe. If Blue's new Paladin couldn't even form Voltron how were they meant to free the universe from Zarkon. The ground started to shake and the Lions all rose to their feet. The hosts started speaking again, but They stopped paying attention focusing on the rising feeling of quintessence. It came from the very heart of the Balmera, and faintly tasted of their host and the Guide. 

 

The ice around the beast started to crack, splinters falling off to crash into the ground. They crouched more, readying to leap back into action. They would wait until all the ice had fallen, so that the beast was looking for them and strike when its back was turned. Before they could, the steadily building quintessence leaped into action. 

 

The ice shattered all in one go, but before the beast could take more that two steps crystals started to sprout all around its feet. It roared its fury, but there was nothing it could do to stop the steadily climbing stones. Within moments the beast was fully contained, even the glow of its energy lasers muted. The Lions hesitated from where they were still crouched, it was Green who took off first flying to circle the trapped beast. 

 

Blue could just hear the singing of the Balmera, and assumed the sentient planet had decided to eliminate the threat. Maybe the Guide had asked for help, or maybe the planet had thought it would be acceptable payment for the massive energy transference. Either way the beast was defeated, They could finally release their host and let him get healed. They settled back at the base of the Castle, the other Lions following shortly behind. 

 

They did not want to release their host. They wanted to keep hi wrapped up tight within them where he was safe and loved for all eternity. When he was apart from them he could be hurt or upset, he already seemed good at finding trouble.  _ You can’t keep me forever, though I don’t want to leave you either.  _ They grumbled their displeasure, but slowly pushed up in his body and walked him down the gangplank. Once they pulled their influence fully away it wouldn’t be long before he collapsed, so they would stay until he was with the others at least.  __

 

The other Paladins and two Alteans were waiting outside the Blue Lion, obviously waiting for Their host. They were all wearing armor, and covered helmets still. They hesitated to release their host, wondering if the atmosphere was unbreathable. But it wasn’t and they had no more reasons to linger. As slow as they could manage They unwound from around their Hosts mind, letting him gain back control. They despised leaving him, but knew it was for the best. Even so they sent one last burst of quintessence and joy at having their Paladin belonging to them before fading completely.

 

```

 

Lance took a deep breath as Blue melted from his mind fully. The last little jolt of energy kept him from collapsing face first, but only barely. It felt like he had ever single drop of life wrung out of him. Everything ached or stung, his whole body letting him know that it did not appreciate how he had been treating it. Cold permeated his every pore, but he knew that at least was the influence of his Lion. he would most definitely appreciate his cloak more at least, and maybe even the warming effect of wielding quintessence. 

 

He opened his eyes, mentally preparing for the backlash he would receive from the others. He had done to much to not earn at least some punishment. He did not even want to begin to think about the creative ways the humans could lash out, let alone the Alteans. Directly in front of him the Princess cut and imposing figure. She marched forwards, light glinting off the edges of her pink armor-  _ Wait, pink?  _ His eyes blew open, registering all the  _ color  _ surrounding him. 

 

Alluras armor was  _ pink,  _ Corans moustache was  _ orange.  _ Lances brain stuttered, he whirled around and couldn’t keep a broken sob contained. Blue was  _ gorgeous,  _ blue had always been one of the colors he missed the most, and she delivered on all counts. He turned back around, the Princess was directly in his personal space. He didn’t even care, his attention caught of the color of her armor. He brought his hands up, expecting to hit the edge of his mask. 

 

The mask wasn't there. Normally the tip brushed his sternum, for the first time without Haggar's watchful eye it was gone. 

 

@@@

 

No, his hands brushed against his chin, then his mouth, right under the tip of his nose he met the jagged edge of his broken mask. One edge cut right under his eye, it made a jagged line across his face ending just below his ear on the other side.  _ Get it off get it off getitoffgetitoff _ . He slid shaking fingers under the edge and yanked upward, it clung to his own cheek marks like it was glued. He didn’t care, he wanted the damned thing  _ off.  _ He yanked harder, ignoring his skin barking in pain and ripped it from his face. 

 

He held the mask in his hands, the customary five eye slits glow fading the longer it was away from his skin. His eyes flickered black, dizziness making him sway in spot. He flipped it over, fingers tracing the grooves that followed the marks on his cheeks. That was another way Haggar tapped into his quintessence, at the place where it showed on his skin. He pressed one of his palms against his stinging cheek and came away bloody. Lance dropped the mask, his throat working around words he hadn’t been able to speak in decapheobs. 

 

“How in the fuck do you think its ok to hide that you know about my brother?!” Pidge snapped. 

 

He turned her way, the bright green accents of her armor somehow beautiful and intimidating. He could practically  _ see  _ the rage crackling around her. He tried to get the words out, managing a weak whine through his shredded throat. Even the slight noise reminded him of Blue roaring through his throat. He wasn't sure he could speak as Pidge didn’t even slow. He stumbled a slight step to the side, his equilibrium fading fast. Black started crowding the edges of his vision, he tried to withhold from passing out and barely managed.   

 

“Answer me!” Pidge yelled in his face. 

 

Lance shook his head, the movement nearly making him fully lose consciousness. He had no clue what she was talking about. Pidge ripped her helmet off throwing it to the side and glaring up at him. Lances heart full stopped in his chest. His eyes burned with tears even as he started leaning to the side. 

 

“Matt?” the word was barely a croak, and all he managed before everything went black again. 


	7. When Memories Break Free

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I AM HERE. lol quick little update with things I promised like hugs. shout outs for this chapter areeeeee Monatora and Whateves1 and Fries. all three of you made me tear up at separate times with amazing and sweet messages. keep being awesome lovelies.

Pidge paced back and forth in front of the Healing Pod. 

 

“Pidge, would you  _ sit down  _ for just a minute?” Shiro snapped. 

 

She growled low in her throat and kept moving.  _ 1 2 3 4 5 6  turn 1 2 3 4 5 6  turn.  _ Quick easily measured steps over and over again. The slight pattern and motion kept her from screaming, so Shiro could shove it. He was the only other one who hadn’t left the med bay yet. They had brought the unconscious Druid in, Hunk carrying it with the rest marching along besides. That had been the day before. When Coran had set up the pod he had cursed in Altean, before turning to them and telling them that with so much damage it would be awhile before the Druid was healed enough to be released. 

 

She was honestly considering saying to hell with it, pulling It out early and getting her interrogation on. Druid would heal when she was done with it, if it answered to her satisfaction. If it tried to lie on the other hand… she would prove why no one ever messed with the Holts. She had been willing to be kind, willing to try and figure out what they could do and help it. Then it had broken through the cuffs, it had done something to the princess, it had done something to the Blue Lion. It had known about her  _ brother,  _ and said nothing. 

 

“Pid- Katie!” 

 

She whirled to face Shiro, her feet finally stopping their anxious movement. He was giving her his patented disappointed stare. She gritted her teeth and turned her back on him, locking her eyes on the pod once again. 

 

“How long have you known.” her voice was cold and stiff, trying to hide the sting of betrayal. Shiro had lied too. 

 

“I thought you were Matt at first. The first time you turned around it was like a punch to the chest, I thought I hadn’t failed him, that he made it out of hell and found me. Then you opened your mouth. That much attitude is hard to fake, or forget.” 

 

“You never said anything.” She tried to ignore the petluntence of her own voice. 

 

Shiro scoffed, she could hear him shift behind her back. “Of course I never said anything. If I did then I would have to send you home. And we both know that you would knock me out if I so much as suggested that you sit on the sidelines when your Dad and Matt were in danger.” 

 

She huffed and moved forwards for closer inspection of the Druid. Shiro was right, if it had been her and Matt together hunting for Shiro then she would still have fought her brother to stay. Not that she had to  _ tell  _ Shiro he was right. Instead she just moved to the side of the healing pod and pulled up the data sheets detailing the extensive damage to the Druid. The first sheet that shimmered into existence was in Altean, she glared at the letter that refused to translate. Greens influence had made her able to understand any spoken languages that they came across so far, but the written word still baffled her. A moment of fiddling had the words transforming into English, and Pidge would be sure to ask how the castle knew the language later. But first, the damage reports. 

 

_ The Druid shows signs of a long and hard existence with little to no proper medical care. About half of his bones show signs of breakage, along with calcium deficiency. This leads to the obvious starvation, for a being that survives of quintessence he obviously need more nutrition than he was getting. A plethora of scars litter his body, varying from bites, to slices, to what I suspect to be whippings, and everything in between. Most of his organs are in the beginning stages of failure, weather from starvation or a relatively short shelf life. The last of the major damage seems to be his throat, the fact that he did manage to speak proves to either incredibly high pain tolerance or stubbornity.  _

 

_ While the Healing Pod will do its job, it will take time. Such extensive damage can easily become permanent if not handled correctly. His scars may lighten, his damaged bones may not ache, the starvation will no longer be critical, but we do not perform miracles. Most likely he will need to do Physical Therapy and intensive training to reach the standards of Paladins, including a rigorous check on mental stability. His voice will probably remain changed, years of disuse coupled with the abuse. The Blue Lion has chosen him, She placed her own marking over the previous brand and changed his quintessence at the base level. No matter the distrust he is the Blue Paladin, and I will do my best to make sure he is at least healthy.  _

 

Pidge snorted and flicked the notes away. Coran was a fool if he boiled down their responses to ‘distrust.’ But, as angry as she was she still could not justify adding more harm to the boy in the Pod. He really did look like a boy, despite being so thin and damaged. His face was very angular, accented by the harsh cuts of navy blue markings that extended from the corner of his eyebrows before cutting under his eyes. When he had finally taken off the pieces of his mask his hair had fallen free, hanging nearly to his waist in matted strands. In the pod it was cleaning him and his hair, dirt and grease being scrubbed away. 

 

She left the Druid to the near silent humming of the pod and joined Shiro leaning against the wall. He didn’t say anything, just lifted his arm and let her press along his side. The silent comfort was enough to make her eyes sting with tears she refused to shed.  _ I promised Mom, I promised that I would not cry until I found them.  _ She grabbed his hand, clinging like a lifeline as they stood in silence, just waiting for the Druid to wake up. Eventually the others trickled in, changed out of their armor and ready to stand vigil, through it all neither Pidge or Shiro took their eyes off him. 

 

```

 

_ There was nothing but Ice. If his mother had ever taken him past the shallows it had to have before he was born, because the sight of endless glittering grey was not an image he would ever forget. Far far away he could just barely see great shelves of Ice carving into the sky. Mama grabbed his ankle, jerking him back fully under the water.  _

 

_ “Do not go ahead of me, it is dangerous for one so young to be on the Ice alone.” her voice burbled in his ears, sharper than he was used to hearing it.  _

 

_ He ducked further under that water looking up at her eyes.  _ He couldn't remember the color anymore, or how they crinkled when she smiled with all her teeth.  _ She huffed and ran her hands through his hair, gently scratching over his ear fins. La-  _ didn’t he have a name at some point? A name that sounded like the gentle swish of seagrass, a name that his father said was strong and befitting of their title. He couldn’t remember it.  _ He swam closer to Mama, grabbing hold of one of her intricate braids and half hiding amongst the rest of her hair. He was still small, the smaller of him and his other soul. She would already be on the Ice, her and Papa easier made for its harshness.  _

 

_ Mama pushed to the surface, she scanned the skies and Ice before swimming closer slowly. He could see that there was a beach carved into the Ice, to make it accessible for the sea dwellers to climb. There was also a pack, and he could see the bright blue of his cloak peeking out of it. Mama made her way to the beach, towing him right along. When they reached it she carefully untangled him from her hair and lifted him up to sit on the freezing surface.  _

 

_ “Do you remember how to change your form like I showed you?”  _

 

_ It was his first time to ever hear Mamas voice above water. Normally her voice sounded much deeper, to better sing her orders across long distances and for the people to hear. Above water it was higher, and slightly eerie without the backing of sea sounds. He nodded to answer, Mama had warned him that speaking above water would be hard and make his throat sore. He would save his voice for when he actually had to speak.  _

 

_ “Good, go ahead and change while we wait for the others.”  _

 

_ He closed his eyes and focused. Mama had always told him that changing his form was a necessary skill, even if they spent most of their time in their home under the sea they would need to be able to rule above the Ice also. The change started at his gills, the feeling of them closing and leaving him only able to breath out of his mouth nearly making him panic. He pushed through, ignoring the panicky feeling as his body changed. His legs shortened, he could feel his fins melting away, the cold strengthened as his scales melded into his skin. It only took moments, then he was left naked and shivering in a completely different form.  _

 

_ Mama clawed her way onto the Ice, looking him over and nodding. She gestured for him to get the bag left for them and dress himself while she changed her own form. He did, cringing at the sound of her bones snapping and grinding as they reformed. It didn’t hurt, not really, but it did leave his insides feeling itchy. And Mama was so much bigger, so it would probably be worse for her. He shrugged into his tunic easily, it was nearly the same to what he normally wore. The pants confused his with no panels for his fins, but he guessed he wouldn’t need fin slits above water. He pulled on his vest and half buttoned it before excitedly reaching for his new cloak. It was a beautiful blue, like the gemstones Papa sometimes brought for Mama, and trimmed in amazingly soft white fur.  _

 

_ He tied it around his shoulders, luxuriating in the feeling of such soft fabric. Under water such a cloak would be destroyed, then normally stuck to clothes woven from sea grass and the occasional pelt. Mama finally finish changing forms and started to pull her own clothes on. Her gown was beautiful, the same shade of blue as his cloak and trimmed in a rich black. Her own cloak was the same grey as the Ice, and the edges glinted with sparkling gems. Gently from the bag she pulled out two crowns, one was hers carved out of a dark stone and inlaid with the same gems as her cloak. It was shaped like a raging storm wave, beautiful danger. The other was smaller, more of a circlet. It was his, and carved out of the same dark stone with a gem winking in the center. Mama placed it on for him, and fixed his hair around it since he would’ve just ran his hand through it. She stepped back to look him over, and huffed out a gentle laugh and she fixed his vest properly.  _

 

_ “Are you excited to see your sister?”  _

 

_ He nodded and tried not to fidget as Mama straightened the rest of his clothes. His Other Soul had gone up to the Ice with Papa a whole pheob ago. He knew that he had to be patient, and Mama had explained how they were better created to survive the Ice, but he didn’t like it. They had been together from the very beginning, the longest time they spent apart was after his sister had been born and was still waiting on him. Twin births were a rarity for their people, and a sign of strength on the mother for surviving. The fact that one of them had been crafted of the sea, and the other of the Ice was just more proof of their rarity. The two often didn’t mix well, yet they still thrived.  _

 

_ He felt them before he saw them. The connection to his Other Soul strengthening the closer they got. After agonizing doboshes he finally saw approaching movement. At first it was just a speck of white, with tiny pinpricks of darker colors. The closer they got the clearer Papa and his sister got.  _ Her name… her name was even more important that his but it was lost to the darkness.  _ They rode on a great white beast, which Mama whispered was the natural form of the Ice walkers. His sister would be able to turn into one of those beasts, but he imagined that she would be much smaller and more fluffy until she got big.  _

 

_ When the others finally reached them by the Ice beach his sister slid off the beast and flung herself at him. They crashed together and nearly fell to the ground but managed to stay upright as they clung to each other. It was like finally putting the last puzzle piece in place, you could see the picture without it but it would never be whole. She still smelled the same, like the lotion Papa made from seaberries. He held on tighter and smiled against her collar when she did the same, rumbling slightly in her chest with happiness.  _

 

_ “What no hugs for either of us?” Papa joked as he walked up at a much more reasonable pace.  _

 

_ They parted reluctantly, and he had the irrational urge to never let go again as he looked her over. She’d gotten even taller without him, now his nose barely brushed her collar bone. The Ice walkers were always bigger than their Sea counterparts, but she was growing quickly even by their standards. In looks they were almost identical, with the same nose and chin and hair, the only difference was their eyes and size. His eyes were the same color blue as the top layer of the shallows when sunlight gleamed through, while hers glinted the steely grey like the underside of the Ice. in their time apart she had gotten freckles, dotting across her nose and forehead like constellations. They even merged with her cheek markings, little pinpricks of darker blue.  _

 

_ He stepped away, and was quickly scooped into a bear hug from Papa. Papa always gave the best hugs, lifting them up off the ground and squishing all the breath from their lungs.  _ He could remember the exact strength of Papa's hugs, but not his voice. Was it the deep baritone fitting of a man so large, or was it softer and more gentle. _ He rubbed his head against the side of Papa’s jaw, scent marking in the way the Ice walkers liked. Papa eventually set him down, and went to go kiss Mama. he knew that his parents had been joined for twice as long as he had been alive, but they still seemed so much in love. His sister grabbed his hand and drug him to the Ice beasts side, offering their parents some privacy.  _

 

_ “This is Keir! He’s been teaching me how to change forms and training me all sorts of neat things!”  _

 

_ The Ice beast, Keir, bowed deeply to them. He barely came up to Keirs shoulder when the beast was on all fours, he couldn’t imagine how tall the beast would be if he stood on his hind legs. The spikes that jutted from Keirs shoulders and the back of his head just made him look all the more intimidating. He really couldn’t imagine that his sister would grow up to be one of the massive Ice walkers. He just didn’t believe she could look so scary.  _

 

_ “Keir can I please show him?”  _

 

_ The Ice walker looked over their shoulders at their parents, who were still wrapped around each other and whispering quietly. Then he looked up, scanning the skies before huffing. His sister squealed excitedly, and quickly shucked off her clothes before scrunching up her face in concentration. He quickly began to pick up her clothes, not wanting to see as she started to change. The sound of it was even worse than when him and Mama changed, though her form was completely different which made sense. They wore matching clothes, simple black leggings tunic and vest, but where his cloak was blue hers was a deep green trimmed in white. He matched Mama, she matched Papa.  _

 

_ He laid everything neatly over his arm, only looking up when the sounds of changing stopped. He promptly dropped her clothes and wrapped his arms around her fuzzy neck. He had been right, she was still tiny, barely coming up to his chin on all fours. What most impressed his was the amount of pure white fluff going every which way. It was so long, and softer than even the fur on his cloak. He couldn’t help giggling as it went up his nose and tried to make him sneeze. He pulled away, brushing a few loose bits of hair away.  _

 

_ His sister rumbled and walked in a short circle, showing off her form from all sides. She really would end up being massive, especially if she kept all the fluff. Her paws were easily three times the size of his fully spread hands, with stubby black claws for digging into the ice. He motioned her closer and patted at her shoulders until he found her spikes hiding under all the fuzz. They were still small and rounded, nothing like Keirs jagged ones. He scratched behind her small round ears making her start to purr and lean her weight into him. Her eyes slowly slid closed only to pop back open when their mother cooed.  _

 

_ “Oh sweetheart, look how cute you are!”  _

 

_ Mama knelt down and started to run her fingers through her fuzz. He smiled and pressed into her side, watching how Mamas eyes lit up with glee. She was a lover of all things soft and fuzzy, and her daughter was exactly that even if she would one day grow huge and dangerous.  _

 

_ “She’s learning quick, You should hear how Keir praises her.” Papa joked joining them, “All the fluff is still baby fuzz, as she gets older her full coat will grow in and be even thicker.”  _

 

_ She nuzzled into his hand as Papa joined in on the petting. For Mama and him and all the other Sea dwellers their other form was the more natural. They were born in it and had to learn how to change shapes. The Ice walkers were the opposite, they had to learn their beast forms as children and train in the changing. Most of their people were Sea dwellers, only the few were Ice walkers. Their parents told stories of how the two people had once hated each other, endless wars separating them. He couldn’t even dream of hating Papa, and any of the Ice walkers that came to the Palace under the Sea had been nothing but kind and respectful. He just wished they could stay forever, not the short visits.  _

 

_ Now that his sister was getting older she would begin to lose the ability to breath under water and have to stay atop the Ice. Their separations would have to get longer and longer while he learned to rule the Seas and she ruled the Ice. He would be able to go to her more often, since Ice dwellers could only come down due to the amazing lung capacity. Just the thought made him fist his hand into her fuzz and hold on a little tighter, while he was still able.  _

 

_ “Go ahead and change back, we need to prepare for our Guests.” Mama said.  _

 

_ Papa growled, his face losing its warmth. He knew that Papa didn’t like their visitors, that he wished they could chase them away and never come back. Mama said they didn’t have the strength to hold them off, and if they tried then the visitors would bring back war. She said that they had to be proper, and that maybe the visitors wouldn’t think much of the ice that covered most of the planet. Papa had been the one to suggest not speaking of the Sea dwellers, or the treasures they held and the number of people. ‘Better to show them the few Ice walkers and the vast expanses of nothing, maybe they will decide we are not worth their time’ Papa said. It rankled, to pretend they were lesser but they had to.  _

 

_ His sister quickly changed back, he buried his face in the edge of Papas cloak until she was done and began to dress. When she was done Papa pulled their two crowns out of an inner pocket of his cloak. His sisters matched his, and Mama put it atop her messy curls before arranging her hair a bit. Papas was the same dark stone as theirs, shaped like the craggy spears of Ice reaching into the sky. Or maybe it was shaped like the spikes of his own other form, Papa had never shown the children. Once done they waiting, though not for long before the sound of engines filled the sky.  _

 

_ The all looked up as the great ships lowered through the clouds. They were huge, bigger than of the Ice ships he had ever seen. Everything from their size to the dark grey coloring to the bright red emblem pasted on the side screamed threat. Papa seemed to agree, a deep growl pushing past his teeth even as Mama rubbed his arm. They gathered tighter together, the twins placed in between their parents and Keir crouching at the rear. The Ship hovered high in the atmosphere, but they could see and panel open in the side and release a smaller craft. His sister grabbed his hand, clinging as they watched the ship come to a rest on the Ice.  _

 

_ Mama and Papa stepped forwards, keeping the twins behind them and mostly out of sight. It was customary to bring children to political meetings, to show trust and good intentions, but that didn't mean they had to like it. He leaned to peer around Mama, his sister doing the same to Papa. Only two people stepped out of the smaller ship, and they had no children. His sister looked at him with a raised eyebrow and he shook his head. That wasn’t a good sign. The one on the left was tall, covered in short purple fuzz, and smiling faintly. The one on the right prickled his nerves, they wore a cloak such a deep purple it was nearly black but they seemed to be faintly edged with neon purple light.  _

 

_ The guests walked forwards, they had no weapons but still Mama and Papa were tense. When they got close the one on the left bowed, though the one on the right just barely dipped their head. The disrespect made his sister rumble slightly, he squeezed her hand once and she stopped.  _

 

_ “Welcome to Veradeao, it is our pleasure to welcome you.” Mama said with the same sweetness she greeted everyone.  _

 

_ He wondered if the guests would even notice how tight her spine was, or how her voice was like a hunter hiding in the shadows. Many people often thought Mama was the soft one, but she could smile like the sun while sinking a knife in their ribs. Papa was the warrior true, but Mama was the brain operating the throne.  _

 

_ “We are glad to be here as the Empires representatives, my name is Thace and my companion is the Druid High Priestess Haggar.”  _

 

_ Thace gestured to the person on the right, and she pushed back the hood of her cloak. He looked at her curiously, he had never seen a glowing person before after all. She looked normal, slate grey hair pulled back from a stern face. Her eyes reminded him of a dead fish though, no life or joy in them as she looked them over. He held tighter to his sisters hand, something about Haggar made him want to hide deep under the sea where not even light reached. After a long moment he saw her eyes moved from staring down Mama to lock eyes with him. He felt the bottom of his stomach fall out, and an instant headache.  _

 

_ If any one else noticed the sudden tension they didn’t react. He fought the urge to duck back behind Mama, even as the Priestess continued to stare him down. Thace was still speaking, general pleasantries to Mama and Papa. When they finally stopped Papa turned  and gestured for him and his sister to come forward. He didn’t want to get closer to the visitors, but at least it gave him a reason to break eye contact. _

 

_ “These are our children-”  _

 

He was sure Papa kept talking, but everything went white. He cried out but made no sound, instead he just heard the sound of mad laughter. He attempted to move and everything snapped back into focus like nothing happened. 

 

_ “They are wonderful, how old are they?” it was the High Priestess.  _

 

_ Her voice was like one of the old Sea dwellers. The man had had his throat half ripped out before Mama was even born and didn’t speak much, but he always told the best stories.  _

 

_ “They are nearing their 7th decapheob now.” Papa answered proudly. _

 

_ The Priestess knelt to their level, and when she smiled it was not beautiful or kind. No her smile made him want to run.  _

 

_ “Isn’t that just amazing.” She purred.  _

 

_ ``` _

 

Lance ripped himself from the memory with the lasting image of Haggar smiling. Already it was fading from existence, he was losing the strength of his fathers hugs, forgetting the tempo of his mothers songs. But those glittering grey eyes… they were branded across the back of his eyelids. His sister, her name was on the tip of his tongue but just out of reach. He’d  _ never  _ had any memories that clear or long, the most he was used to quick snapshots and deja vu. He refused to let it slip through his fingers, he couldn’t lose the little he had only just gained. 

 

He opened his eyes, and was under water. In the shallows with sunlight tracing golden paths through the waves while he played. By the time he blinked the image had shifted and he realized he wasn’t under the watchful eye of his mother, but in a tiny pod with tinted blue glass. It was warm and still, somehow some comfortable he could almost close his eyes and drift away again. He might have given in to the urge, if movement hadn’t of caught his eye. He peered through the cloudiness, and could just see the tiny emerald form of Pidge standing with her back towards him. 

 

_ I have a younger sister you know. Her name is Katie, and one day she will rule the world. She's smarter than anyone I have ever met and more stubborn than even you. As much as Haggar asks me about earth, I can't tell her anything, I have to keep Katie safe. _

 

The echo of Matts voice filled his head. It had been one of the times the human had pissed off a Galra soldier that he told Lance about his younger sister. Even covered in blood with his face twisted in pain Matt had relaxed at the thought of his family, at his mother and baby sisters safety. But, that was his little Katie in front of Lance. Katie Holt was the Green Paladin. Pidge was Katie Holt. His brain short circuited trying to connect the puzzle pieces of a wicked smart kid who didn’t understand the word No to the same kid that would take the Galra head on and already tased him in the ribs… actually no, that was about what Lance would expect from a Holt. Now he just had to figure out a way to tell Matt. 

 

He tried to bring his hands up to press against the glass, the tiny space meaning he had to keep his elbows pressed up into his ribs. It didn’t look like the Paladins were paying him any attention, instead focused on a wildly gesturing Coran. He pressed against the glass, trying to see if he could lift it but nothing. Even when he tapped on it no one turned, and he couldn’t even hear himself. He reached, trying to see how much of his quintessence had regenerated, Lance sucked air through his teeth when it eagerly responded. Before using quintessence had been an effort, like tying a leash to a bounding Anslash, now it leapt to action almost before he was ready to act. 

 

All it took was one tick and the small area was filled with freezing fog. Another for the glass to slide away under his palms leaving nothing for him to lean against. Lance stumbled free, feeling like the gravity had been secretly increased. The Paladins all whirled, instinctively clumping together. White filled the edge of his vision and then there was a warm body pressing against his side and holding him up. The smell of seaberry lotion teased his senses and he reflexively relaxed. 

 

“Verona,” He breathed the name like a blessing, a curse, a promise, and a betrayal all in one.  

 

“What?” the Princess spoke in his ear. 

 

He drew away, the fur of a royal cloak transformed into long white hair. The scent of seaberry lotion faded into something much more nondescript. But, he had a name. The name of his sister to match her eyes and endless cheer. 

 

“Verona,” he said her name again just to relish in it. 

 

He moved fully away from the Princess, standing under his own power even as his equilibrium kept fading in and out. There was so much  _ color  _ all around, Pidge and the Champion each still wore their armor with its bold paint. Hunk and Keith had changed out of the armor, but still their day clothes were a riot of color and texture to behold. He couldn’t keep his eyes focused on one thing, new little bits of color or interesting shadows kept catching his attention. His eyes landed on the two pieces of the mask that chained him more securely than any bonds. They were on the table at Pidges elbow, but he paid the girl no mind as he picked them up. 

 

One half in each hand, the truest mark of a Druid reduced to nothing more than statically charged ivory. Lance brought them together, tracing the jagged edges with his eyes, it looked like a bolt of lightning. Which considering how the quintessence transfer had gone was maybe a bit accurate. He was honestly surprised that he not only survived but felt better than he could ever remember. Even the foreign cold presence in the back of his mind that he was firmly ignoring until he could properly panic was more comforting than distressing. Even though  he really wanted to chunk the broken mask into a wall, to grind it to dust so it could never be found again Lance just set it back on the table as gently as he could. 

 

For the first time he looked up and focused properly, locking eyes with Pidge. She looked so much like Matt it hurt, but he refused to look away from the fury in her golden eyes. Slowly she moved around the table separating them and stepped right into his personal space without looking away or blinking once. 

 

“I want you to tell me everything you know about my brother, and I want you to say it very quickly before I lose the small amount of patience that allowed you to heal in the pod.” her voice was soft, but that somehow made the threat that much more real. 

 

Lance tensed his muscles to avoid stepping away. He got the feeling that if he so much as twitched it would be disastrous for his health. He took a deep breath and tried to think of something to say that wouldn’t get him immediately electrocuted.  

 

“I was there when commander Sendack brought three terrified humans aboard his ship,”  _ well that probably wasn’t the best place to start, but guess I said it now,  _ “at first they didn’t seem like anything special, just another species for the Empire to take advantage of. I didn’t pay them any attention, more focused on my spiderweb of information and lies to feed to Haggar and the other commanders.” 

 

He had to pause for a moment, his throat working against him and voice fading to nothing. His voice was different than he expected it, deeper for sure, and rough in a way that spoke of the decapheobs of silent screaming. Every word was an effort, but one he would gladly make just for the simple joy of being able to. 

 

“It wasn’t until later, until it was decided that two of the humans would be sent to the Arena that I thought to notice them. After Matt got hurt, Shiro attacking him and feigning madness to keep Matt out of the Arena, he became my responsibility. I was to take him to Haggar, to let him become one of her play things. But, I became attached and I knew the terrors she was fond of, I wanted to save him from her experimentation.” 

 

He had to stop as the memory filled his head. The punishment for disobeying the High Priestess was swift and unmatched in its cruelty, but it worked. He served as an adequate distraction for long enough that the Champion caught Haggar's eye instead of Matt. 

 

“Anyway, Haggar decided to just study him. As her only mostly non impacted human she wanted to see how he would respond and adapt to everyday moments. We last communicated about two pheobs ago, and at the time he reported no new information.” 

 

He stopped again, leaving out so much of their story, but also not willing to share it. The moments of kindness, the unending snark, the first time Lance was actually called by his name aloud and how he cried under the mask, how Matt would talk in his sleep, how quickly him and Merla bonded and decided their life goal was to make Lances life hell. Every little moment of goodness that he hoarded and stored deep in his heart only to be pulled out in the dark moments Lance forgot who he was meant to be besides Haggars favorite pet.

 

“You said something about a planet.” it wasn't a question but at least Pidge hadn’t attacked. 

 

“Gnocs. It is one of the research bases I mentioned in my notebook along with its exact location and as much of the security detail as i could remember.” 

 

Pidge nodded once and turned to the Princess, pure steel in her eyes, “If you want me to be a Paladin, if you want Voltron whole then we go rescue my brother. Now.” 

 

Lance could see the Princesses jaw clench, and her lips thin around what would probably have been a cutting remark. But she held it in, forcing her shoulders to relax and nodding.

 

“I do not blame you for wanting to save your family as soon as possible, let us go enter the coordinates and be on our way. But, if we are to go get him I don't care what he wants. You  _ will  _ be a Paladin of Voltron, there will be no more fighting or trying to leave. Even if we have to take your brother back to earth and leave him there.”  

 

Lance honestly wondered if Pidge would have growled and bared her teeth at the Princess, he almost wanted to do it for the girl. Even though her spine was tight enough to snap under her anger, and her fists were clenched tight enough for her armor to creak Pidge just nodded. 

 

“Understood.” it was snapped, the same way Matt would speak when given orders he disagreed with. 

 

“Good. Druid allow Coran to check you over for any lingering damage, we did not expect you to exit the pod so quickly.” 

 

He nodded and watched the Princess sweep out of the room with the Paladins trailing after her. It just left him and Coran who smiled gently and gestured for Lance to sit on the edge of the table. 

 

“Allura has always been a bit gruff, even when she was a child. But she knows how important friends and family are, and will do whatever she can to protect those bonds.” 

 

Lance cocked his head and considered the mans words. He had his sisters name now, he may not remember the name of their planet but he knew the endless expanses of glittering ice, and he knew that Haggar herself had gone planet side for a dignitary meeting. Maybe if he could just figure everything out he could go home, see if there was anything left after so many years of darkness. Or mourn their deaths if there was nothing but yet another war torn husk of a planet. He didn’t think the Paladins were going to kill him anymore, not when Blue claimed his very soul. Maybe he could even tell them his name and they would allow him to keep it. 

 

He was a part of Voltron now. Whether he or anyone else wanted it he was an essential part of the resistance until his death. For once he truly felt a spark of hope flare to life deep in his heart. If he played everything just right, used all his extensive knowledge and power, they might just be able to do some good. He just had to try.     


End file.
